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Flying the Shuttle - Abort Procedures Overview: Difference between revisions
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Flying the Shuttle - Abort Procedures Overview (view source)
Revision as of 10:14, 26 April 2016
, 26 April 2016→We're going to Africa! - a TAL tutorial
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* Now launch under auto-guidance, let the computer handle the Shuttle all the way to SRB-separation and then climb about a minute further till you're about here on the trajectory: | * Now launch under auto-guidance, let the computer handle the Shuttle all the way to SRB-separation and then climb about a minute further till you're about here on the trajectory: | ||
[[File:TAL-tutorial02.jpg|900px|TAL tutorial | [[File:TAL-tutorial02.jpg|900px|TAL tutorial 2]] | ||
Then use the engine cutoff switch {{Key press|Control|e}} to switch off the right main engine. | Then use the engine cutoff switch {{Key press|Control|e}} to switch off the right main engine. | ||
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Also good to know - in case you lose a second engine late in the flight, roll control is lost (because roll control is done by vectoring the left engine up and the right engine down and vice versa - which you can't do with one engine). In this case, you need to do <b>ITEM 6 EXEC</b> on the OPS 103 screen to select single engine roll control (SERC). This will use the RCS thrusters for roll control, which is not as crisp as vectoring the main engines, but way better than nothing. For obvious reasons SERC doesn't work with a fuel dump via the RCS thrusters, so if you need SERC, you need to inhibit OMS - RCS interconnect during a fuel dump. | Also good to know - in case you lose a second engine late in the flight, roll control is lost (because roll control is done by vectoring the left engine up and the right engine down and vice versa - which you can't do with one engine). In this case, you need to do <b>ITEM 6 EXEC</b> on the OPS 103 screen to select single engine roll control (SERC). This will use the RCS thrusters for roll control, which is not as crisp as vectoring the main engines, but way better than nothing. For obvious reasons SERC doesn't work with a fuel dump via the RCS thrusters, so if you need SERC, you need to inhibit OMS - RCS interconnect during a fuel dump. | ||
* At MECO, your situation should look like this (you can verify using the groundtrack map as a cheating option that you're indeed pointed right at Banjul): | |||
[[File:TAL-tutorial05.jpg|900px|TAL tutorial 5]] | |||
* Now this is where the hectic part begins - the Shuttle will enter the atmosphere in about three minutes, so you need to work quickly. This is the part where you need to know the procedures, you can't take the time to read them up. | |||
First, disconnect the external tank. | |||
Once it's gone, roll around into entry attitude - make sure the nose of the Shuttle is pointed forward (i.e. along the flight path marker), then pitch up to 40 degrees. | |||
While the roll is in progress, close the ET umbilical door and latch it. <b>Do not forget this, or you'll have a huge gap in your thermal protection!</b> Then initiate a propellant dump as quickly as possible. | |||
(If you're unsure about how these procedures work, please refresh your knowledge using the [[Flying_the_Shuttle_-_Orbital_Operations#Welcome_to_space_-_a_tutorial | Welcome to Space]] tutorial). | |||
[[File:TAL-tutorial06.jpg|600px|TAL tutorial 6]] | |||
While the Shuttle is rolling and venting leftover propellant, configure the software for entry by typing <b>OPS 301 PRO</b>. When the OPS 3 GNG software has loaded, move the PITCH pushbutton on the panel to CSS to avoid transients. Then, <b>when the Shuttle is in entry attitude</b>, change to the entry DAP using <b>OPS 304 PRO</b> and switch the pitch channel back to auto. | |||
(The Shuttle will try to get into entry attitude when you just activate the Aerojet DAP, but since it isn't made to acquire entry attitude but just to hold it, this will take some time and lead to a lot of oscillations - so just don't go there.) | |||
* You should already see yourself on the ENTRY TRAJ 1 display: | |||
[[File:TAL-tutorial07.jpg|600px|TAL tutorial 7]] | |||
The atmosphere should make itself felt half a minute after the fuel dump ends - so there's no much time to lose! | |||
From this point on, you're basically flying a normal entry trajectory followed by a TAEM pattern at Banjul. Coming from TAL arctop gives you a higher vertical speed than coming from a normal de-orbit maneuver, so you'll experience a somewhat more violent hdot capture and you may need steeper bank angles than you're used to, but the techniques are all the same, there's no TAL specific procedure from this point on. | |||
Good luck with the remaining part of the fastest transatlantic flight you've probably ever made! | |||
== Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
[http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/events/aborts/ NASA human spaceflight page on abort modes] | [http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/events/aborts/ NASA human spaceflight page on abort modes] | ||