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Shuttle-like space taxi would call Kennedy Space Center its homeport
Dream Chaser project could eventually mean jobs in ‘low hundreds’ for area
A Colorado company wants to base a fleet of small shuttle-like spaceships at Kennedy Space Center, a move that could yield dozens of new jobs on Florida’s Space Coast.
The Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser will blast off atop United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 41.
The reusable spacecraft will be able to ferry up to seven people to and from the International Space Station, or other destinations in low Earth orbit.
The Daily Planet at Discovery Channel website has a video report about the Dream Chaser. Watch it here.
The Space Shuttle Program’s Oddest Passengers
With the final space shuttle scheduled to launch July 8 carrying an iPhone and a mutant strain of salmonella, we’re taking a look at some of the strangest things that have ridden along with the shuttle astronauts into space.
launch photographed from space
The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-125 in HD
INSIDE THE SPACE SHUTTLE FUEL TANK
This photograph shows an inside view of a liquid hydrogen tank for the Space Shuttle external tank. At 154-feet long and more than 27-feet in diameter, the ET is the largest component of the Space Shuttle, the structural backbone of the entire Shuttle system, and is the only part of the vehicle that is not reusable.
An unprecedented up close, inside look in high-definition of space shuttle Atlantis as it was readied for “towback” from Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility runway to Orbiter Processing Facility-1 following its May 26 landing on STS-132. After every shuttle landing, about 150 trained workers assist the crew out and prepare the shuttle for towing atop a large diesel-driven tractor to its processing hangar.
Via @spacefuture.
The inside view of a liquid hydrogen tank designed for the Space Shuttle external tank, viewed on February 1, 1977. At 154 feet long and more than 27 feet in diameter, the external tank is the largest component of the Space Shuttle, the structural backbone of the entire Shuttle system, and is the only part of the vehicle that is not reusable.
Source: NASA
NASA: Space shuttle cracking finally understood
NASA finally knows what caused the cracking in space shuttle Discovery’s fuel tank, a potentially dangerous problem that likely existed on the previous flight, managers said Tuesday.
Discovery’s final voyage has been on hold since the beginning of November. If the remaining repair work goes well, the shuttle could fly to the International Space Station as early as Feb. 24.
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As for Discovery’s prolonged grounding, shuttle program manager John Shannon said a combination of inferior material and assembly issues is to blame. Cracks occurred in five of the 108 aluminum alloy struts in the center of the tank, which holds instruments. The damaged struts have been patched. Technicians will reinforce the remaining struts as a safety precaution, using thin 6-inch strips of aluminum.





