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1979_shuttlestack.JPG | 1985_Orbiter_repair.JPG | Shuttle-MattS.1984.jpg | 1988_Clustershuttle.JPG | 1_87shuttle%20BP%20on%20pad@1991.jpg |
| Shown here is when, after losing control and crashing with mixed elevon control, a temporary nose was added to test out the use of rudder control for turning. This model got a proper nose added after the rudder test flights proved to work out. Rudder control is the best way to steer the orbiter, with elevons used only for pitch. | Flew nicely on an Aerotech F15, however the first flight shown above went unstable due to poor stability calculations. Later 1984 flights used Estes-style fins sticking out the back of the SRB's. | First and LAST atttempt to power a shuttle with engines in SRB's. One D12 did not light exactly in sync with the other, throwing the model to a 45 degree climb as it left the rod. Did not crash, but a close enough call.
| This model used an F14 in the ET, but the SRB's had token 13mm A motors in them for cluster points and to eject the SRB chutes. SRB's also sepped, via R/C command (orbiter itself was NOT R/C). Unfortunately, cluster problems arose. Some flights, one or both SRB's did not ignite, allowing them to fall to the ground with no chute ejection. And one flight was a total disaster when the A's lit, but the F14 took awhile. The A's took it up the rod, then it fell down, damaged an aft SRB attachment, then the F14 finally ignited, taking off with one SRB wiggling, going wild and crashing. Also, it never achieved the goal of finding out if the ET /Orbiter was stable after SRB sep. Every time the SRB's did sep the orbiter came off of the ET (had angled hook attachments, not latches as with the R/C orbiters) |
The old 1982 piggyback orbiter had crashed a few years before, the piggyback booster chute failed and the orbiter did not come off, as it had no R/C sep. Also it had become to costly to fly on F15 motors. The 1992 orbiter solved those shortcomings, with R/C sep at any time and reasonable motor cost. | Piggyback_1_60.JPG | | N-40 Shuttle-1_Vern.jpg | N-40_Shuttle_Launch.jpg |
Renewed interest in the shuttle model came from a number of US Team members at the 1998 WSMC during a dinner with Ian Dowsett. | Photo by Vern Estes. | Photo by Vern Estes. | ||
The other changes involved chute deployment timers for the SRB's, better SRB sep latches, and even "staging" for the old 1984 orbiter. | Shuttle_34_View.jpg |
Shuttle_aft.jpg | Orbiter had an engine mount for a 13mm A motor added. Wiring was redone to allow for "remove before flight" style power and arming plugs to be inserted into the positions of the #2 and #3 SSME's. |
Orbiter_aft_plugs.jpg |
The BT-80 chute compartment contains a hollow reuseable piston (far right in photo) with the ejection charges inside. The chutes are all stored inside, firing out the rear of the nose. The CG needs to be as forward as possible, but adding dead noseweight is not practical due to the weight limit. So, as many necessary ET parts as possible are located in the ET nose. | |
ET_Nose_w_piston.jpg | 1/16" ply disc protects intertank area from damage at ejection, and has a 6 conductor phone jack for electrical connections to the flight computer in the ET nose. |
Intertank_inside.jpg |
| ET_Left_Aft.jpg | Shown at right with 4 remove before flight plugs (power & arm), 2 for the ET nose and 2 for the orbiter. | | |
Photos of the SRB wind-up timers and ejection dowel. When the SRB seps, a restraining rod is pushed out of the way by the timer, allowing it to run. When the disc rotates far enough, a 1/8" dowel is freed, driven up by a rubber band. SRB chutes are stored in the noses, but to assure the chutes come out there is a spool assembly that fits inside the nose. Chutes are not wrapped to the spool, simply fall free when the spool snaps backwards backwards from the nose. |
| SRB_Timer_w-spool.jpg |
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