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From: thoth@tellab3.UUCP (Marcus Hall)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Columbia Replacement
Message-ID: <316@tellab3.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Feb-86 23:18:00 EST
Article-I.D.: tellab3.316
Posted: Wed Feb  5 23:18:00 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Feb-86 05:12:25 EST
References: <860129202758.780479@HI-MULTICS.ARPA> <3203@sun.uucp> <847@umd5.UUCP>
Reply-To: thoth@tellab2.UUCP (Marcus Hall)
Organization: Tellabs, Inc., Lisle, IL
Lines: 34

>> >  (3) NASA will have Rockwell refit the Enterprise to make it fully
>> > operational.  Nobody has mentioned this one.  Is it even possible?  I
>> > don't know how far the Enterprise is from being an operational orbiter,
>> > instead of a boiler plate shuttle replica.  Anybody have any ideas?
>> 
>> It is not possible. Enterprise, being first, was more a mockup than a real
>> orbiter and is significantly heavier than the production schedules. They
>> would have to significantly reduce payloads to orbit it, and I'm not really
>> sure if it was ever certified as spaceworthy.
>> 
>
>The US Space Shuttle Enterprise has already been donated by NASA to the
>Smithsonian Institute. I've heard the cost of retrofitting the Enterprise
>would exceed the cost of a brand-new orbiter.

Wouldn't the Smithsonian Institute give it back?  I remember that the Saturn V
lying on its side at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville was
considered "on active standby" when I visited there many years ago.

At any rate, if Rockwell would have to re-tool from B1 production to make
another shuttle, that could drive the cost of a new shuttle higher than the
cost of making Enterprise operational.  I believe that the Discovery is
actually older than Enterprise (I believe that it is frame 098 and Enterprise
is 099 [Not in octal, by the way :-)]).  If Discovery could be built from
an older airframe, perhaps Enterprise could be updated.  Since Columbia just
recently returned from her retrofit, there may be enough facilities remaining
at Rockwell to retrofit Enterprise although not nearly enough to start from
scratch again.

This is just total speculation on my part.  I welcome corrections from those
in the know.  Perhaps it's just wishful thinking?

marcus hall
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