Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (1986)

Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by bdunbar on Saturday February 08, 2014 @01:13PM (#7201958)

Wings were the real problem.

They stuck out where they could be struck by stuff. They precluded the capsule eject system. They cost Shuttle tons of fuel. For a system used in only one part it's flight regime.

Why _why_ did Shuttle have wings? The Air Force insisted. So they could launch Shuttle into polar orbit from Vandenberg. Shuttle would need the wings to come _back_ to Vandenberg.

Then the Air Force withdrew from the program. Too late to get rid of the terrible wings, however.

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Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by curtis on Saturday February 08, 2014 @02:08PM (#7202155)

It's a legitimate question to ask if the wings were worth the trouble. However, the real problem from a safety standpoint was that Shuttle was riding on the side of the stack rather than on top.

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Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by Already__Taken on Saturday February 08, 2014 @02:33PM (#7202245)

Because it had wings. You can't put wings up top without even bigger wings down low to make the thing stable.

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Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by curtis on Saturday February 08, 2014 @02:41PM (#7202289)

Even if that's the case, those lower wings aren't as vulnerable to minor damage since you don't need them for re-entry. That said, I am firmly in the "wings aren't worth it" camp anyway. Just put a capsule on top.

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Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by gaius on Saturday February 08, 2014 @01:17PM (#7201971)

Curious, how would it land anywhere without wings? Apart from splashing down.

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Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by tunap on Saturday February 08, 2014 @01:33PM (#7202025)

Lifting Bodies

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-011-DF...

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Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by InclinedPlane on Saturday February 08, 2014 @02:18PM (#7202190)

You don't need huge delta wings to land, a lifting body design with maybe little wing stubs (like HL-20/Dream Chaser/BOR-4 works just fine).

Here's an M2-F3 landing video, as an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaz6Bmitawo

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Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by deletes on Saturday February 08, 2014 @04:01PM (#7202709)

Elon musk explained many times how Dragon will land with helicopter precision. Currently it lands with precision of a few kilometers( because of the wind, they use parachutes ).

They can do that because even on a symetrical capsule you can have lift vector control.

I can't find the video, but you can look it up with google. It is very easy to find.

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Re:Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle (... by bdunbar on Saturday February 08, 2014 @07:51PM (#7203665)

What InclinedPlane said.

The huge-giant wings were needed so Shuttle could fly cross-range back to Vandenberg after going over the pole.

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