Did the space shuttle have an escape system?
Did the space shuttle have an escape system?
Unlike the ejection seat in a fighter plane, the shuttle had an inflight crew escape system (ICES). The vehicle was put in a stable glide on autopilot, the hatch was blown, and the crew slid out a pole to clear the orbiter’s left wing. They would then parachute to earth or the sea.
Did space shuttle crew have parachutes?
The crew escape system was never used on an actual mission, although there was one mishap where one of the pilot parachutes accidentally deployed in the crew cabin while the shuttle was in space (one of the astronauts who had skydiving experience swapped his backpack for that one, planning to pull his chute manually if …
Why didn’t the challenger have a parachute?
The original design of the Shuttle would have been next-to-impossible to exit while tumbling or even gliding like the brick it was for the crew. After Challenger, NASA installed a long telescoping pole that the parachute-equipped crew was supposed to use to get them out and away from the craft.
Could the Space Shuttle abort landing?
Transoceanic abort landing A TAL abort would have been declared between roughly T+2:30 minutes (2 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff) and main engine cutoff (MECO), about T+8:30 minutes. The shuttle would then have landed at a predesignated airstrip across the Atlantic.
What is the Space Shuttle crew escape system?
The Space Shuttle Crew Escape System consisted of two spring-loaded telescoping poles in a curved housing mounted on the middeck ceiling. A magazine at the end of the pole held eight sliding hook and lanyard assembles.
How did the Space Shuttle pole idea come about?
Machín’s boss, Winston Goodrich, came up with the pole idea. It was impressively simple: The astronauts could slide down a kind of fire pole that, after being extended from the shuttle hatch at a certain angle to a specific length, would put them on a trajectory that stayed well clear of the left wing.
How do you escape the orbiter in an emergency?
In an emergency, crew members could open the side hatch, deploy the pole, attach to a lanyard, and slide out along the pole to parachute away from the orbiter. The crew escape system was intended for emergency bailout use only when the orbiter was in controlled gliding flight and unable to reach a runway.
Why did NASA remove the escape system from discovery?
NASA added crew escape systems to the Space Shuttle orbiters after the 1986 Challenger tragedy. This equipment was removed from Discovery after its last flight (STS-133 in 2011) so NASA could release the high-tension springs for safety before delivering the orbiter to the Museum.
