From: Greg Burch (gregburch@gregburch.net)
Date: Sun Feb 02 2003 - 16:36:58 MST
> From: Michael M. Butler
>
> Greg Burch wrote:
> > Question for the rocket scientists: Would Columbia have had enough
> > delta-v aboard to change orbital planes for a rendezvous with ISS?
> > NASA's been saying such a move would have been fruitless
> because there
> > was no docking/airlock module on board, but a crew transfer
> could have
> > been done in the pumpkin suits.
>
> Hmm. Does ISS have a lock with doors big enough to pass a
> pumpkin suit? Or would the idea be to de-press Columbia *and*
> (part of) ISS for the necessary phases of the transfer?
>
> You're the better student of the current configuration of ISS...
There are 2 airlocks on ISS -- one US and one Russian. The pumpkin
suits are smaller than either the US IMU suit or the Russian Orlan suit
and the airlocks are each designed to accommodate 2 astronauts suited
for EVA and a good deal of equipment. In the emergency situation we're
talking about, the pumpkin suits would be good enough to hold pressure
for the transfer out the starboard side door of the shuttle. Here's the
mission profile:
-- Columbia comes alongside and is grappled by the station's arm (I
don't know, but assume Columbia didn't have its arm fitted for this
SpaceLab mission).
-- Columbia's crew begins shuttle power-down for on-orbit mothballing of
indefinite duration.
-- Columbia's crew suits up in the pumpkin suits and goes on Columbia's
suit-supply air.
-- ISS arm maneuvers Columbia as close to the Quest airlock on ISS as
possible, with the starboard main shuttle door facing Quest.
-- 2 from ISS exit the Quest airlock and rig as many lines as possible
around the passage between the two vehicles.
-- Columbia depressurizes and the two from ISS cycle three Columbia crew
into Quest at a time (I'm sure it would hold three in pumpkin suits at a
tight fit). Columbia crew stay on air supplied from Columbia until it's
their turn. They're on suit air for max 20-30 minutes -- more like
10-20.
-- After the third cycle, the 2 from ISS do a minimal close-down of
Columbia's hatch, photo the damage on the left wing if there's time on
the EVA, disconnect safety lines and ingress Quest.
Total EVA time < 4 hours.
All assumes:
1. Sufficiently high-resolution pics of Columbia's left wing could have
been taken to diagnose the problem to make this kind of wild decision
possible.
2. Columbia has enough delta-v to rendezvous with ISS. (Note ISS has
some minimal on-board delta-v, and could have contributed slightly to a
plane-matching manouver).
Thereafter, Columbia's crew could be cycled down in Soyuzes over time,
with resupply of ISS stepped up for the duration with Progress flights.
If Columbia couldn't be salvaged, then the SpaceLab module could have
been disconnected over time and incorporated into ISS, Columbia stripped
and "scuttled".
(An old salvage lawyer's mind at work, I guess ...)
Greg Burch
Vice-President, Extropy Institute
http://www.gregburch.net
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