Every time the shuttle flew, NASA had a space station in orbit.
Space stations have been conceived since before human spaceflight. Designs for outposts, research bases, work platforms, service bays, and launch platforms were proposed. The shuttle was able to perform all of these functions and more. Its major shortcoming as a space station was its limited endurance on orbit.
All manned spacecraft before the shuttle were capsules with limited volume and equipment for the crew. They were limited to crews of 3 or less that were smaller inside than most compact cars. Capsules transported crews to space and back. There was little room for anything else.
On board the shuttle, things were different. The crew had a two deck cabin with a flight
seats, work stations, a galley, sleeping quarters, storage, a hygiene
station, and even a toilet. Up to 7 astronauts could spend up to 17 days in relative comfort.
The shuttle was like a space station, it had an airlock, a remote
manipulator arm, cargo bay lights, and other equipment needed for operations in orbit. Each flight was outfitted for the mission objectives.
Space lab and Space Hab modules could be carried increasing
habitable volume and space for experiments.
Power was provided by three fuel cells. It was the fuel
cells that limited the shuttles time in orbit. Large solar arrays
were studied under a number of different projects. NASA eventually
used extra cryogenic tanks in the payload bay, and finally reversing
the power flow while docked at the ISS to extend the time on orbit.
Many ideas that were conceived for use on a
space station were tried and used on the shuttle. Thirty years of
experiments in life sciences, materials, astronomy, space construction
techniques, space walks, earth observations, physics, and microgravity research would have
been an astounding success for 5 space stations. With the science and work
they accomplished, they compare well to the Soviet Salyut and Mir
stations.
One of my favorite memories is of the first flights of the manned maneuvering unit (MMU). It was like Buck Rodgers, astronauts could fly in space untethered. Many space station concepts had thought of something like the MMU, but it flew on the shuttle. At the time it seemed that the shuttle was living up to expectations. The future of space flight looked bright, the sky was the limit. But that's another blog post.
The large 15' x 60' cargo bay could serve
as a work platform, service and repair bay, experiment platform, and
launch platform. During its career, the shuttle deployed 99 spacecraft. Three of NASA's great observatories, the Hubble Space Telescope(1990), the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory(1990), and the Chandra X-ray Observatory(1999) were deployed from the payload bay. On 5 occasions, the Hubble Space Telescope was
serviced, replacing gyroscopes, solar panels, instruments, and
returned to continue deepening our view of the cosmos. Intelsat VI, Solar Max, Leasat-F3, were repaired on orbit and put back in operation. Several deep space probes including Galileo,
Magellan, Ulysses, started their journeys aboard the shuttle.
Special payloads using the shuttles unique capabilities were flown. The Wake Shield facility conducted experiments in ultra vacuum on three flights. The space tether experiment flew twice. The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was deployed in 1984 by Challenger, and retrieved by Columbia in 1990 several years later than planned, testing many materials in the space environment. The 13' x 102' OAST1 solar array was deployed several times by Discovery in 1984 testing several different kinds of light weight solar cells. The Experimental Assembly of Structures in EVA and the Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures, or EASE/ACCESS, were a pair of experiments that tested space construction techniques on Atlantis in 1985. The European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) was deployed by Atlantis in 1992, and retrieved by Endeavor in 1993. Japans Space Flyer Unit launched in 1995 by a H2 rocket was returned to Earth by Endeavor in 1996.
Department of
Defense and National Reconnaissance Office requirements were the reason for the large payload bay. Otherwise the shuttle would have been much smaller.
11 dedicated DOD missions were flown deploying classified payloads. Speculations about these missions include the Lacrosse Radar Imaging Satelite, various DOD sats, Magnum elint sats, as well as Misty, a supposed stealthy spy sat. Other payloads were tested in orbit by the military. The air forces X-37 was also designed to fit in the payload bay. Eventually all astronauts who flew on DOD missions were awarded National Intelligence Achievment medals. In many ways, the shuttle surpassed the air forces aborted Manned Orbiting Laboratory space station.
Even before Columbia first
flew, construction of a station was seen as one of its purposes and
destinations. Construction of the ISS was probably
the shuttle programs greatest achievement and legacy. During the early phases of construction
of the ISS, power was drawn from the docked shuttle. Serving as a construction platform, components were launched, delivered, and installed.
Sadly the shuttle fleet was retired when the station was completed but their time had come.
The shuttle almost became the ISS, during the redesign in the early 90's. Option C proposed to develop the Shuttle-C as a space station. I would have preferred this one over the Option A ISS that was built. It would have provided more habitable volume like skylab. The station would have been operational after launch and fewer flights would have been needed to finish outfitting the station. And NASA would have acquired a heavy lift launch vehicle, something they have been trying to do since retiring the Saturn V.
Now the shuttle has been retired, gone the way of the saturns before. In twenty years, I wonder if we will remorse the loss of the shuttles the same as the loss of the saturn rockets.
Space stations have been conceived since before human spaceflight. Designs for outposts, research bases, work platforms, service bays, and launch platforms were proposed. The shuttle was able to perform all of these functions and more. Its major shortcoming as a space station was its limited endurance on orbit.
One of my favorite memories is of the first flights of the manned maneuvering unit (MMU). It was like Buck Rodgers, astronauts could fly in space untethered. Many space station concepts had thought of something like the MMU, but it flew on the shuttle. At the time it seemed that the shuttle was living up to expectations. The future of space flight looked bright, the sky was the limit. But that's another blog post.
2002- The Silence of the Rams
