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From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Shuttle Abort Modes
Message-ID: <1990Nov26.222928.6431@news.arc.nasa.gov>
Date: 26 Nov 90 22:29:28 GMT
Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov (USENET Administration)
Reply-To: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Lines: 45

The following is an excerpt from the STS-41 Press Kit (found in the space
archive on ames.arc.nasa.gov).  It lists the abort modes and landing sites.

							-Peter Yee
							yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov
							ames!yee
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        SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES


        Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy is to achieve a safe and intact
        recovery of the flight crew, orbiter and its payload.


        Abort modes include:

        % Abort-To-Orbit (ATO)

        Partial loss of main engine thrust late enough to permit
        reaching a minimal 105-nautical mile orbit with orbital
        maneuvering system engines.

        % Abort-Once-Around (AOA)

        Earlier main engine shutdown with the capability to allow one
        orbit around before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.;
        White Sands Space Harbor (Northrup Strip), N. Mex.; or the
        Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy Space Center, Fla..

        % Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL)

        Loss of two main engines midway through powered flight would
        force a landing at Ben Guerir, Morocco; Moron, Spain; or
        Banjul, The Gambia.

        % Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS)

        Early shutdown of one or more engines and without enough
        energy to reach Ben Guerir, would result in a pitch around and
        thrust back toward KSC until within gliding distance of the
        Shuttle Landing Facility.


        STS-41 contingency landing sites are Edwards AFB, White Sands,
        Kennedy Space Center, Ben Guerir, Moron and Banjul.