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From: rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (Roger Noe)
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Subject: Re: Emergency landings and OMS
Message-ID: <441@ihlts.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 27-Apr-84 14:53:48 EST
Article-I.D.: ihlts.441
Posted: Fri Apr 27 14:53:48 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Apr-84 09:43:22 EST
References: <1038@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 13

>	If I were a Shuttle pilot, and decided that I was going to come up
>	short of the runway, I would be tempted to fire up the OMS engines
>	to stretch out my glide path a little.
>		Larry Wall

Nice trick, since all remaining reactants are purged from the OMS/RCS tanks
long before touchdown.  I do not know if the He tanks are left pressurized
until landing or not.  In any event, the OMS engines would have a small
effect (thrust) at sea level--probably negligible compared to the kinetic
energy of the "dry" orbiter.  Only the SSMEs (Space Shuttle Main Engines)
and, of course, the SRBs (Solid Rocket Boosters) were ever intended to be
used anywhere outside the vacuum of space.
	Roger Noe		ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe