Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!rutgers!gatech!gitpyr!ccoprmd
From: ccoprmd@pyr.gatech.EDU (Matthew T. DeLuca)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: What if...
Message-ID: <7802@pyr.gatech.EDU>
Date: 1 Apr 89 20:36:18 GMT
References: <18730@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> <29106@sri-unix.SRI.COM> <7786@pyr.gatech.EDU> <369@cbnewsl.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: ccoprmd@pyr.UUCP (Matthew T. DeLuca)
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology
Lines: 55

In article <369@cbnewsl.ATT.COM> sw@cbnewsl.ATT.COM (Stuart Warmink) writes:
>In article <7786@pyr.gatech.EDU>, ccoprmd@pyr.gatech.EDU (Matthew T. DeLuca) writes:
>> As a matter of fact, the tile repair kit was carried from day one. [...]
>
>The tile kit was not on board the first flight, and I'm not sure it was ever
>carried on board at all. The problem with the first few flight was that there 
>were only two crew members (they always have EVA in pairs for safety), and 
>the space suits had not been flight-tested anyway.
>Also, without the Canadarm or MMU, how would the astronauts reach the affected
>area? Also, if the kit was carried on board, why has it never been used?
>There have been plenty of flights with tile loss or damage, the recent 
>Atlantis flight even had a missing tile in one of the hottest areas, just
>behind the nose cone.
>
>Also, the images of Columbia on that first flight were taken by an 
>Air Force telescope in Hawaii, I believe. It would be quite an achievement
>to point one satellite at another, but then again, what do I know
>about SDI...   ;-)
>-- 

Are you sure about this?  I checked on this last night, and according to the
article (Nat'l Geographic, March 1981), there was a kit, and it showed a 
picture of Truly (STS-2, I believe) in a water tank, practicing its use.  It
looked like a huge caulk gun with a flat nozzle.  I couldn't find the 
magazine I was looking for (NG, May, 1981), which had a detailed account of
the first flight, and included info on the tile kit.  Considering the 
difficulties with the tiles at first, I find it inconceiveable that there
would not be a tile kit on board.

As to applying the stuff, all you do is step outside and put it on.  The
mechanical arm has been on board since day one, although it was not tested
until the second mission, I believe.  However, had there been a need for the
arm, to apply goop, they would have used it.  If it was on the far underside
of the craft, they could have used tethers, like the old days :-)  True, 
walks today are carried out in pairs, for safety, but that`s a luxury you
have when you have half a dozen crewmembers.  On the first flights, they 
would just have stepped outside anyway.  If you drift away from the shuttle,
the person inside just flies over and grabs you.  There's a set of maneuvering
controls on the mid-deck work station, so the pilot can fly over and then use
the arm to give you a grip.  That's one of the neat things about the shuttle.

Finally, it is true the Air Force used a Hawaii telescope to photograph the
shuttle, but the Powers That Be (NSA?) wanted to see about photographing 
spacecraft in orbit, so they flew a Keyhole over and did the job.  IN
William Burroughs' book, Deep Black, he goes into the use of the KH satellites
for space photography.  *Very* interesting, what they've been up to.




-- 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Matthew DeLuca                      :
Georgia Institute of Technology     : Remember, wherever you go, there you are.
ARPA: ccoprmd@pyr.gatech.edu        :