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Upgrading the Space Shuttle (1999)

Chapter: Appendix C: Shuttle Upgrades Presented to the Committee

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Shuttle Upgrades Presented to the Committee." National Research Council. 1999. Upgrading the Space Shuttle. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6384.
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Appendix C Shuttle Upgrades Presented to the Committee

Phase II

Orbiter Projects

Global positioning systems

Multifunction electronic display systems

Advanced master electronics controllers

Thermal protection system improvements

Shuttle integrated global positioning system and inertial navigation system

Micrometeoroid and orbital debris protection

Advanced air data transducer assembly

Reinforced carbon-carbon upgrade

Solid state recorder/mass memory storage unit

Solid state lights

Precision approach

Wireless video

Checkout and launch control system

Integrated vehicle health management

Fiber-optic flight experiment

Standard single payload carrier study

Less toxic thermal protection system waterproofing

Reusable Solid Rocket Booster Projects

Hydraulic power unit fuel isolation valve/shaft seal

Aft skirt factor of safety bracket

Composite solid rocket booster nose cap

Page 65 Cite
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Shuttle Upgrades Presented to the Committee." National Research Council. 1999. Upgrading the Space Shuttle. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6384.
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External Tank

External tank ground umbilical carrier assembly upgrades

Friction stir welding

Extravehicular activity projects

Phase III

Channel-wall nozzle

Reusable solid rocket motor J-joint insulation upgrade

Avionics upgrade

Auxiliary power unit replacement,

Nontoxic orbital maneuvering system/reaction control system

Regenerative carbon dioxide removable system

Water membrane evaporator

Extended nose landing gear

Main propulsion system electromechanical actuator

Phase IV

Solid rocket motor fifth segment

Liquid fly-back booster

Page 64 Cite
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Shuttle Upgrades Presented to the Committee." National Research Council. 1999. Upgrading the Space Shuttle. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6384.
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Page 64
Page 65 Cite
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Shuttle Upgrades Presented to the Committee." National Research Council. 1999. Upgrading the Space Shuttle. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/6384.
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The space shuttle is a unique national resource. One of only two operating vehicles that carries humans into space, the space shuttle functions as a scientific laboratory and as a base for construction, repair, and salvage missions in low Earth orbit. It is also a heavy-lift launch vehicle (able to deliver more than 18,000 kg of payload to low Earth orbit) and the only current means of returning large payloads to Earth. Designed in the 1970s, the shuttle has frequently been upgraded to improve safety, cut operational costs, and add capability. Additional upgrades have been proposed-and some are under way-to combat obsolescence, further reduce operational costs, improve safety, and increase the ability of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to support the space station and other missions.

In May 1998, NASA asked the National Research Council (NRC) to examine the agency's plans for further upgrades to the space shuttle system. The NRC was asked to assess NASA's method for evaluating and selecting upgrades and to conduct a top-level technical assessment of proposed upgrades.

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