Development of space shuttle Program

Design concept history of Space shuttle

The formal design of what became the space shuttle began with “Phase-A” contract design studies issued in the late 1960’s before Apollo Program.

First design experiment - submitted by Walter Dornberger was “North American X-15”, is rocket powered manned aircraft or space plane and it made the world record for the fastest speed ever reached by manned rocket power aircraft.

Second experiment of Space shuttle design was “Boeing X-20 Dyna Soar” in 1957 to 1963 program design for bombing, space rescue, satellite maintenance, and sabotage of enemy satellites at the time of Mercury/Vostok design is going on.

It could not only be boosted, and travel to distant targets at the speed of an intercontinental ballistic missile under the control of pilot and it land by the parachute system of drag.

Neil Armstrong was selected to pilot the both the X-15 & X-20.

Third experimental design of shuttle was “HL-10”, Horizontal Landing in 1966 and this program design for heavy weight lifting body and to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering, landing with a low-lift-over-drag vehicle for reentry from space at California Dryden flight research centre, Edwards air force base and also to evaluate “Inverted Airfoil” lifting body & delta planform.

Fourth experiment was “DC-3” in 1968, this is basic design of Space shuttle Orbiter

Fifth experiment was “X-24B” in 1973 and it proved that an unpowered space plane could re-enter earth’s atmosphere for Horizontal Landing and Lifting body concept.

Responsible of Space shuttle program segments-

• Kennedy Space Center – responsible for launch, landing and turn around operations for equatorial orbits
• US Air force at Vandenberg air force Base – responsible for launch, landing and turn around operations for polar Orbits
• Johnson Space Center – served as the central point for all shuttle operation and it had all flight and deck hardware
• Marshall Space Flight Center – responsible for the main engines, external tank, and Solid rocket boosters
• John C.Stennis Space Center – handled main engine testing
• Goddard Space Flight Center – managed the Global Tracking network

Shuttle materials hand over to school, universities and Museum across the country after 135 mission completed, these details as follows-

1. Atlantis is delivered to display on Kennedy Space Center
2. Flight & mid deck hardware moved from Johnson space center to National Museum of U.S air force
3. Full fuselage mockup, which includes payload bay, aft section but no wings delivered to Museum of Flight
4. Mission simulation and training facility’s fixed simulator was moved to Chicago Adler Planetarium
5. Motion simulator to Texas A&M Aerospace engineering department in college station
6. Simulation used in Astronaut training sent to Wings of dreams Aviation Museum in Florida and Virginia Air & Space Center
7. Endeavour was delivered to display on California Science Centre in Los Angles
8. Discovery was delivered to display on Udvar-Hazy Center of Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & space Museum in Virginia
9. Enterprise moved to Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
10. Thermal Protection System tiles more than 1000 delivered to many school and universities across countries for educational purpose