National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: POST-CHALLENGER ASSESSMENT OF SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT RATES AND UTILIZATION
Suggested Citation:"SUMMARY." National Research Council. 1986. Post-Challenger Assessment of Space Shuttle Flight Rates and Utilization. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10615.
×
Page 15
Suggested Citation:"SUMMARY." National Research Council. 1986. Post-Challenger Assessment of Space Shuttle Flight Rates and Utilization. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10615.
×
Page 16
Suggested Citation:"SUMMARY." National Research Council. 1986. Post-Challenger Assessment of Space Shuttle Flight Rates and Utilization. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10615.
×
Page 17
Suggested Citation:"SUMMARY." National Research Council. 1986. Post-Challenger Assessment of Space Shuttle Flight Rates and Utilization. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10615.
×
Page 18

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Summary POLICY ASSUMPTIONS l. The United States will have a sustained manned space launch capability. 2. The present shuttle will have to assure that function at least until the turn of the century. 3. An ELV production commitment will be made to achieve a mixed tleet of launchers. FLIGHT RATES Three Orbiters can sustain a rate of tt to l0 flights per year after an initial buildup period ot approximately 2 years providing: (l) no Orbiter is lost or becomes inoperable, (2) adequate logistics support exists, and (3) no problems exist that require extensive downtime. A surge rate of lZ flights per year should be possible for short periods of time for simple payloads and flight plans. With a t-Orbiter fleet the sustainable flight rate would be l1-13 per year with a surge rate of l5 flights per year only if appropriate ground support facilities are acquired. In order to sustain such rates and take account of possible contingencies, the shuttle scheduling should be based upon fewer vehicles than are actually in the inventory by almost one Orbiter. FLEET CONCEPT If the space shuttle is to serve manned launch requirements tor an extended period of time, then it should be viewed in terms of a fleet in the same manner as other transportation systems and consideration must be given to vehicle attrition necessitating replacement Orbiters over time. This will necessitate a balance between production rates and replacement requirements. l5

Ito LAUNCH DEMAND With the temporary cessation of shuttle flights, it is expected that the backlog of manifested payloads will actually decrease as some previously scheduled satellites will not be flown and the DoD will off-load many payloads for launch on ELVs. The heaviest launch demand arises for the Space Station—32 shuttle launches are anticipated during the 3-year construction phase—and, presuming schedules ao not slip, this could not in itself be accommodated by 3 Orbiters. This situation is recognized by NASA study groups currently reexamining the configuration of the Station. While many military payloads are slated for launch on the Titan IV and the MLV, there is not an ELV launch capability to accommodate the large number of space science or commercially contracted payloads. A resolute ELV procurement effort by NASA, or other civil government agency, is not yet in place but may be required to fulfill commercial contracts ana NASA's space science program. Unless or until a commercial launch vehicle industry comes into existence, however, an extensive private launch industry is not likely to arise before the l990s. PAYLOAD PARTITIONING Partitioning of payloads between the shuttle and ELVs has been materially affected because NASA is not funded at present to procure ELVs. Even in the short run, some additional off-loading of DoD-related payloads may be in order when alternatives are available.

Appendixes

Next: APPENDIXES »
Post-Challenger Assessment of Space Shuttle Flight Rates and Utilization Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF
  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!