True, but they at least reserved the space for it in the Block I design.

On page 119 and 121 (printed on the page, not what Acrobat says) there are
drawings of the Block I design showing where the docking/transfer tunnel
would go.

Derek Lyons wrote:

When the work was done is irrelevant - the capability was intended
from the start is my point. Providing those capabilities way delayed,
not added.

It is relevant, because even though the capability was intended from the
start, it was not part of the original vehicle design.

It wound up being upgraded later, in a rather kludgy way that makes no
sense from an overall system perspective but makes perfect sense once you
know that it was grafted on.

Thanks for a great explanation of how a docking is actually flown. I'd
forgotten that the aft station allows the CDR to fly the shuttle.

It is relevant, because even though the capability was intended from the
start, it was not part of the original vehicle design. It wound up being
upgraded later,

in a rather kludgy way that makes no sense from an
overall system perspective but makes perfect sense once you know that it
was grafted on.

Moving the docking adapter to the cargo
bay meant the Shuttle only needed to carry it on missions that needed
it (Station missions) in turn meaning more payload could be carried on
missions that didn't need to dock (Spysat launches.)

It is not an easy thing to remove and installed. And now, it can't be
removed since it is the only airlock

On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:05:43 -0700 (PDT), charliexmurphy@yahoo.com
wrote:

Moving the docking adapter to the cargo
bay meant the Shuttle only needed to carry it on missions that needed
it (Station missions) in turn meaning more payload could be carried on
missions that didn't need to dock (Spysat launches.)

It is not an easy thing to remove and installed. And now, it can't be
removed since it is the only airlock

Yes, but this was 1973, when NASA had deluded itself into thinking the
Shuttle could fly 50 times a year. Realistic processing schedules
weren't exactly the order of the day.

The ODS didn't become a 'permanent' part of the orbiter until ISS
construction was well underway. Until it was installed 'permanently',
it could be (and was) changed out as easily as any other payload.

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:27:31 -0500, "Jorge R. Frank"
jrfrank@ibm-pc.borg> wrote:


It is relevant, because even though the capability was intended from the
start, it was not part of the original vehicle design. It wound up being
upgraded later,

Jenkins 3rd Ed., Page 190 shows pretty much today's docking system
(part of the Spacelab tunnel) in the Orbiter proposed in November
1973. This is very soon after the current Orbiter design basics were
settled uponm so it does not appear on the surface to have been an
afterthought. Earlier concepts seem to have the docking adapter in the
nose, but these are also Orbiter concepts that have abort motors and
air-breathing engines. I guess it depends on what your definition of
"original vehicle design" is. I'm not at all sure there was *one*.

in a rather kludgy way that makes no sense from an
overall system perspective but makes perfect sense once you know that it
was grafted on.

Actually, it makes perfect sense. I suspect this was a design decision
made when the Shuttle had to become an all-purpose launch vehicle and
not just a Station Shuttle. Moving the docking adapter to the cargo
bay meant the Shuttle only needed to carry it on missions that needed
it (Station missions) in turn meaning more payload could be carried on
missions that didn't need to dock (Spysat launches.)

The shuttle program's failure to do so has led to
reliability problems, of which today's approach and docking was a
perfect example, for those who were paying close attention.

"Jeff Findley" <jeff.findley@ugs.nojunk.com> wrote:

Thanks for a great explanation of how a docking is actually flown. I'd
forgotten that the aft station allows the CDR to fly the shuttle.

AOL>Me too</AOL> I kept thinking 'the CDRs window is in front of the
CDRs seat'.

"Derek Lyons" <fairwater@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:47da6cc8.1410989078@news.supernews.com...
"Jeff Findley" <jeff.findley@ugs.nojunk.com> wrote:

Thanks for a great explanation of how a docking is actually flown. I'd
forgotten that the aft station allows the CDR to fly the shuttle.
AOL>Me too</AOL> I kept thinking 'the CDRs window is in front of the
CDRs seat'.

I wonder if this was covered in the "Space Shuttle Operator's Manual" that I
bought in the early 80's. It's not a great book, but it was good for a
teenager interested in the space shuttle.