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From: dwhitney@uok.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Columbia Replacement
Message-ID: <7900013@uok.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Feb-86 01:57:00 EST
Article-I.D.: uok.7900013
Posted: Tue Feb  4 01:57:00 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 7-Feb-86 21:21:16 EST
References: <780479@<860129202758>
Lines: 33
Nf-ID: #R:<860129202758:780479:uok.UUCP:7900013:000:1479
Nf-From: uok.UUCP!dwhitney    Feb  4 00:57:00 1986



>...I don't know how far Enterprise is from being an operational 
>.shuttle...

Though I have yet to hear this mentioned by any members of NASA or
the networks, this idea to me seems far more sensible than spending
the money involved in a from-scratch shuttle.  If Enterprise weren't
reasonably close to an operational shuttle in terms of design alone,
it wouldn't have served very well as a prototype (i.e. aerodynamics
structure, etc)

From what I understand, Enterprise is simply on display on the West
Coast.  Given the rate at which NASA will fall behind its schedule
each month it waits for the investigations and search teams to 
complete their research and findings into the loss of Challenger, 
it seems that refitting the Enterprise to be the most expedient.
I believe that the main types of refit required would involve
tiling of the shuttle exterior, installation of engines, and of
course, the necessary computer and on-board control systems it
couldn't possibly have by virtue of its "retirement."

Of course, if any of the above information is incorrect or incomplete,
please correct it, because it has been some time since I heard much
about Enterprise.  It merely seems that refitting Enterprise could
not possibly approach the cost of building a scratch shuttle; even
if only the basic framework/structure proved all that could be used,
that would seem to be worth looking into.

David Whitney]
University of Oklahoma
Engineering Computer Network
uok!dwhitney