Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rice!titan!phil From: phil@titan.rice.edu (William LeFebvre) Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle Subject: Re: Installation of TDRS Summary: Swinging structure Message-ID: <1883@kalliope.rice.edu> Date: 14 Sep 88 13:41:21 GMT References: <13809@ames.arc.nasa.gov> <1271@nunki.usc.edu> <1988Aug28.000604.16249@utzoo.uucp> Sender: usenet@rice.edu Reply-To: phil@Rice.edu (William LeFebvre) Organization: Rice University, Houston Lines: 30 In article khai@amara.uucp (S. Khai Mong) writes: > >If the TDRS and some other satellites are installed while the shuttle >is at the launching pad, how is cleaniness ensured? Or does it not >matter? A bug or a fly trapped inside might very well cause a jam in >some delicate mechanical part? They still maintain cleanliness. There is a rotating structure (which probably has a name that I cannot remember) on the pad. When they are doing work on the shuttle, such as installing something in the payload bay, they swing the structure around so that it covers the top of the vehicle. In recent news reports about the launch they have shown an unusual view of Discovery. They have been showing the ET side of the shuttle instead of the view we are more familiar with. The reason is that the swinging structure is in place and you can't see much of the shuttle itself from the other side. I believe that this structure seals onto the top of the vehicle and allows them to open the payoad bay doors while still maintaining a clean environment in the bay. Alternatively, it could be that the TDRS is already sealed in its cradle, and all they do on the pad is place the cradle in the bay. If the cradle is sealed, then the satellite stays clean. But I think that they still try to keep the entire cargo bay as clean as possible. William LeFebvre Department of Computer Science Rice University