Question General Spaceflight Q&A

[unknown]

OK, it's exhaust gas.

 

[ryan]

But that Hydrizan can be nasty stuff.

 

[DaveS]

But that Hydrizan can be nasty stuff.

It's spely hydrazine, not hydrizan.

 

[ryan]

Sorry.

 

[Urwumpe]

Hydrazine is toxic, but otherwise a fairly user-friendly rocket fuel. You only need a catalyst coating in the chamber, ignition happens automatically if the catalyst has the right temperature.

The Shuttle also has a proposed update to replace the APUs by something less toxic - but that will never come now.

EDIT: BTW, There was once a APU fire in one of the Shuttles. In STS-9, one of the first flights, two APUs failed "under-speed" shortly after landing.

What this means in reality:

Six minutes and fifty seconds after the Orbiter landed, APU (auxiliary power unit) -1 shut down automatically because of a turbine under-speed condition. Four minutes and twenty-four seconds later, a detonation occurred in APU-1, simultaneous with an automatic shutdown of APU-2, also the result of a turbine under-speed condition. Fourteen minutes and forty-two seconds after APU-2 shutdown, a detonation occurred on APU-2. APU-3 ran normally until the crew shut down the unit approximately 12 minutes after landing.

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/news/columbia/anomaly/STS9.pdf

The cause was hydrazine leaking as early as 17 minutes after starting the APUs for reentry.

 

[DaveS]

Hydrazine is toxic, but otherwise a fairly user-friendly rocket fuel. You only need a catalyst coating in the chamber, ignition happens automatically if the catalyst has the right temperature.

The Shuttle also has a proposed update to replace the APUs by something less toxic - but that will never come now.

Yes the Electric APUS(EAPUs). There was also a proposal to replace the OMS/RCS with a non-toxic version that would use LOX and ethanol as the propellants instead of MMH and N204.

 

[unknown]

Who are the female commanders of Space Shuttle missions since STS-1?

 

[Urwumpe]

Who are the female commanders of Space Shuttle missions since STS-1?

Only Eileen Collins and Pamela Melroy.

 

[unknown]

Who are the space shuttle astronauts died as of March 31, 2008 excluding STS-51L and STS-107?

 

[Urwumpe]

David Griggs, STS-51-D, died in 1989, killed in a crash with a historic WW2 training plane.
Karl Gordon Henize, STS-51-F, died in 1993, because of heart failure while climbing Mount Everest.
Robert F Overmyer, STS-5 and STS-51-B, died 1996, in a crash while testing the Cirrus VK-30 light aircraft.
Charles L Veach, STS-39 and STS-52, died of cancer in 1995.
David M Walker, STS-51-A, STS-30, STS-53 and STS-69, died in 2001, after a brief and sudden illness.

 

[unknown]

I have another person died, G. David Low, STS-32, STS-43, STS-57, died on March 15, 2008, due to colon cancer.

Thanks Urwumpe, you are very smart.

 

[unknown]

Who are the persons of Space Shuttle before STS-1?

 

[Urwumpe]

Who are the persons of Space Shuttle before STS-1?

Except the many thousand engineers, I can't name?

Of the Approach and Landing Tests with Enterprise:

Crew 1:
Fred W. Haise, Jr.
C. Gordon Fullerton

Crew 2:
Joseph H. Engele
Richard H. Truly.

 

[unknown]

Except the many thousand engineers, I can't name?

Of the Approach and Landing Tests with Enterprise:

Crew 1:
Fred W. Haise, Jr.
C. Gordon Fullerton

Crew 2:
Joseph H. Engele
Richard H. Truly.

Congratulations, Urwumpe, you are very smart.

 

[myles]

If anyone's interested, I found these really cool docs:

http://www.fiddes.us/shuttle/RTLS.pdf

http://www.fiddes.us/shuttle/ATOAOA.pdf

Check out their site:

http://www.fiddes.us/

 

[Urwumpe]

Yes, a very nice collection. I did not know they also had the STS-1 checklists around, will take a look at them.

 

[ryan]

Why did NASA switch external tank colours? i think the white looked way better then the current orange one.

 

[Missioncmdr]

Not painting the External Tank white saved about 270 kg in weight. I believe it was actually some sort of fire retardant that was later found to be unnecessary. The rustic orange is the actual color of the insulation without paint.

 

[ryan]

Not painting the External Tank white saved about 270 kg in weight. I believe it was actually some sort of fire retardant that was later found to be unnecessary. The rustic orange is the actual color of the insulation without paint.

They should just paint it white anyways, just to make us feel like were in the good old days, when John Young was still flying and he was still swearing on the lunar surface:clap:

 

[BlueDragon8144]

You're painting the wrong ship my friend.