Location
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Columbia/ Enterprise Rooms
Start Date
24-4-1991 2:00 PM
End Date
24-4-1991 5:00 PM
Description
The benefits of evolving the current Space Shuttle into a system that can meet our country's manned space transportation needs for the next 30 years are numerous. To address Shuttle evolution, NASA has initiated several programs over the past 2 years, including Assured Shuttle Availability (ASA), "Technology Bridging," and the Shuttle Evolution System Assessment (SESA) study. ASA is a planned upgrade program that focuses on near-term supportability and operational cost reduction issues. The "Technology Bridging" program, led by NASA's Offices of Space Flight and Exploration and Technology, identifies key technologies for movement from the laboratory to "field" demonstrations on the Shuttle and future NASA programs. In contrast to these somewhat gradual changes, significant quantum changes leading to a "Block n" upgrade of the current Shuttle system are being explored under SESA.
This paper presents a systematic approach to upgrading the current Space Shuttle to a Block II system while building on and making use of more near-term upgrade plans such as ASA and Technology Bridging. Several options to block changes—based on requirements for increased reliability, improved robustness, lower operating costs, and overall enhanced capability—are discussed. Implications to flight and ground operations, and to the entire space transportation architecture, are also presented.
Paper Session II-B - An Approach to Shuttle Evolution
Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel, Columbia/ Enterprise Rooms
The benefits of evolving the current Space Shuttle into a system that can meet our country's manned space transportation needs for the next 30 years are numerous. To address Shuttle evolution, NASA has initiated several programs over the past 2 years, including Assured Shuttle Availability (ASA), "Technology Bridging," and the Shuttle Evolution System Assessment (SESA) study. ASA is a planned upgrade program that focuses on near-term supportability and operational cost reduction issues. The "Technology Bridging" program, led by NASA's Offices of Space Flight and Exploration and Technology, identifies key technologies for movement from the laboratory to "field" demonstrations on the Shuttle and future NASA programs. In contrast to these somewhat gradual changes, significant quantum changes leading to a "Block n" upgrade of the current Shuttle system are being explored under SESA.
This paper presents a systematic approach to upgrading the current Space Shuttle to a Block II system while building on and making use of more near-term upgrade plans such as ASA and Technology Bridging. Several options to block changes—based on requirements for increased reliability, improved robustness, lower operating costs, and overall enhanced capability—are discussed. Implications to flight and ground operations, and to the entire space transportation architecture, are also presented.
Comments
Space Shuttle and Derivatives
Session Chairman: Brewster H. Shaw, Deputy Director, Space Shuttle Operations, NASA Headquarters
Session Organizer: Patricia Houston, Manager, Project Integration, McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company, Kennedy Space Center, FL