It is to be transported to the KSC

May 30, 2009 09:28 GMT  ·  By

Today, the American space agency may begin transporting its space shuttle Atlantis back to the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, after the spacecraft's successful Sunday landing at the Edwards Air Force Base, in Southern California. However, the move may not be done today, despite the schedule, mostly because of the fluid nature of the mating process, between the orbiter and its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). NASA currently has two of these airplanes, which are heavily-modified Boeing 747 jumbo jets. They have been in use since the late 1970s, and have performed admirably.

It's difficult to decide a time line in such cases, NASA officials say, because no one can afford to rush the teams working on the delicate procedure. Basically, the shuttle has to be lifted off the ground, and then raised via crane above the SCA, and then gently lowered and affixed in the other craft. During this time, engineers have to perform numerous diagnostic and run maintenance checks on the orbiter. Also, they have to cover up its thrusters, for fear of damage during flight.

 

On their way to the Kennedy Space Center, the SCA and Atlantis will have to make a few stops, as the combined weight of the two crafts severely limits the Boeing's range and maximum altitude. It can travel 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometers) while carrying a shuttle, and has a limited flight ceiling of 15,000 feet (5,000 meters). A flight on the SCA usually costs NASA between $1 and $2 million, but the prices could have been higher if the agency hadn't purchased the two SCA in the first place. Without them, it would have been forced to depend on a US Navy C-5 aircraft, which NASA wouldn't have owned.

 

One of the most important factors the mission planners for the current flight have to keep in mind is that the weather around the KSC still hasn't cleared off completely, and that the massive Boeing, plus the shuttle, would be faced with a large danger if they fly into a turbulent area. Either way, the flight has to stop on several airports on its way over, for refueling and constant checks on Atlantis.

 

She is at this point held in high esteem mostly because she was the last vessel to see the Hubble Space Telescope. In a breathtaking 13-day mission to the orbital observatory, the seven-astronaut crew aboard the shuttle repaired or replaced almost all of Hubble's components, leaving behind a telescope more efficient than ever.