XPost: sci.space.shuttle, sci.space.policy   
   From: abrigon@yahoo.com   
      
   Building shuttles more quickly and less manual labor?   
      
   Anyway to instead of tiles, make it sheaths of material?   
      
   Sort of like what they do to fighters now, but this would have to be   
   something like built up, but then you could just spin it around the   
   shuttle?   
      
   Sort of like what you do to ... not sure.. you start at the top, and you   
   cover the shuttle and especially the external fuel tanks, in a thin   
   layer with each pass of a sheet (with no end until complete with the   
   whole tank) of a material like the tiles, but not where you have to glue   
   each on, which sounds very ineffiecient as well as laborious as well as   
   worse, easier for a tile to break and seperate..   
      
   Mike   
      
      
   Jacques van Oene wrote:   
   >   
   > Contact:  Jessica Rye                                                   Vol.   
   > 1   No. 12   
   > (321) 867-6185   
   >   
   > Space Shuttle Processing Status Report   
   >   
   > Friday, May 14, 2004 (8:30 a.m.)   
   >   
   > The Space Shuttle fleet is housed and processed at NASA's Kennedy Space   
   > Center (KSC), Fla. The order of the Space Shuttles in this report does not   
   > necessarily reflect the chronological order of future missions.   
   >   
   > Discovery (OV-103)   
   >   
   > Processing continues in the Orbiter Processing Facility in preparation for   
   > Discovery's Return to Flight mission, STS-114, to the International Space   
   > Station. Vehicle power-up work continues with Orbital Maneuvering System pod   
   > continuity checks and verification testing.   
   >   
   > Following the installation of the four new Rudder Speed Brake (RSB)   
   > actuators, technicians continue to re-hang the four panels. On Tuesday,   
   > workers completed the installation of Discovery's external airlock and hung   
   > the first Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panel on the right-hand leading   
   > edge of the wing.   
   >   
   > Atlantis (OV-104)   
   >   
   > Atlantis was powered up in support of mission processing for its future   
   > flight to the International Space Station. Fuel cell removal began on   
   > Monday.   
   >   
   > The four RSB panels and actuators were removed from the vehicle. The   
   > actuators will be X-rayed to determine whether the gears were assembled in   
   > the proper orientation and then be sent to the vendor for a complete   
   > inspection. Left-hand RCC panel installation is complete, and 20 right-hand   
   > panels have been assembled prior to being hung.   
   >   
   > Endeavour (OV-105)   
   >   
   > Space Shuttle Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which   
   > began in December 2003. Electrical modifications continue in the crew   
   > module. Wire inspections on Endeavour are complete in all areas except the   
   > Environmental Control and Life Support System bay. Inspections in that bay   
   > are ongoing.   
   >   
   > Technicians continue to bond Thermal Protection System tiles to the External   
   > Tank door. Right-hand radiators No. 3 and 4 arrived in the Orbiter   
   > Processing Facility and were installed on the vehicle.   
   >   
   > --   
   > ---------------------------   
   >   
   > Jacques :-)   
   >   
   > www.spacepatches.info   
      
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