Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!ginosko!aplcen!haven!umd5!rossh
From: rossh@umd5.umd.edu (Hollis "NeXT-Dood" Ross)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: shuttle escape systems
Summary: I Think its unfeasable
Keywords: Expensive, Unreliable, Dangerous, Nope
Message-ID: <5475@umd5.umd.edu>
Date: 17 Oct 89 14:17:08 GMT
References: <538.252A3A3B@mamab.FIDONET.ORG> <1989Oct12.021826.7915@utzoo.uucp> <1155@crdos1.crd.ge.COM>
Reply-To: rossh@umd5.umd.edu (Hollis "NeXT-Dood" Ross)
Followup-To: sci.space.shuttle
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Lines: 45

In article <1155@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> davidsen@crdos1.UUCP (bill davidsen) writes:
>  I wish the public could know just what the state of the astronauts was
>after the failure (a) before water impact and (b) after. Certainly after
>the breakup the cabin dropped subsonic, it would be worth thinking about
>a chute system at that point, something which isn't all that heavy. It
>would cover the case in which the cabin survived, as it seems to have
>after the fast burn and breakup.
>
>-- 
>bill davidsen	(davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen)

Here are my opinions on the above (I'm not a rocket scientest, but I 
play one on TV).  Assuming that a system such as you suggest had been
implemented, then it would have to work in the following way: 

	1)	Seperation of the Crew compartment from the remains
		of the shuttle body.  Some sort of explosives would be 
		required for this.  A reliable arming/disarming system
		would have to be used so that you didn't have any 
		accidental misfires. 
	2)	Once seperated, the crew compartment has to be "righted"
		so that the chute can deploy properly.  It will probably 
		be tumbling, and I'm sure you can't deploy a chute while 
		you are turning end or end, and expect it to work. Some 
		sort of Drouge (sp?) chute. 
	3) 	Deploy the Chute (The simple part).
	4) 	Keep the crew compartment floating till help arrives, or
		Keep it afloat long enough for the conscious and mobile 
		members of the crew to evac the wounded/unconscious 
		members to rafts.
	5)	Most important part: Dodge tons of fallings debris 
		during all of this.  

I remain skeptical of this solution.  Other solutions such as Ejector 
seats aren't possible for the entire crew, from what I've heard.  
The only thing that could have saved the Challenger crew would have 
been Mgmt listening to the Engineers (In my opinion). 

Hollis Ross
rossh@umd5.umd.edu

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