Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Fourth Shuttle?
Message-ID: <1989Dec16.232445.27149@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <10556.886.forumexp@mts.rpi.edu>
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 89 23:24:45 GMT

In article <10556.886.forumexp@mts.rpi.edu> Greg_d._Moore@mts.rpi.edu (Commander Krugannal) writes:
>      One reason the Endavour will be finished sooner than normal
>   is for some reason NASA had the foresight to order some key
>   important spare parts, such as WINGS! ...

Actually, what happened was a bit more complex.  The Office of Mismanagement
and Beancounting persistently refused to fund another orbiter.  However,
it was pointed out that relatively minor accidents like hard landings could
significantly damage an orbiter.  Auxiliary systems -- electronics, plumbing,
tiles, etc. -- are being replaced in small ways all the time, so it would
not be difficult to replace them.  Major structural parts, on the other hand,
would be impossibly difficult to obtain after the production line closed.
This could mean writing off an orbiter which was only lightly damaged.  And
since the auxiliary systems are a large part of the cost of an orbiter, it
is *relatively* cheap to make a set of "structural spares".  OMB bought that
one, and authorized one set of structural spares.  This was lucky in more
than one way, because it's the only reason the production line was still
running when we lost Challenger.

Endeavour is being built from the current set of structural spares.  I
believe the funding package for Endeavour included approval to build a
new spares set.
-- 
1755 EST, Dec 14, 1972:  human |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
exploration of space terminates| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu