Shuttle Atlantis landing at Edwards in 36 minutes

[konnichi wa]

just fyi

http://www.nasa.gov

[bemildred]

1. Whups, better get my earplugs. nt

[peekaloo]

2. Damn you Florida weather!

always good for a :wtf: when not expecting the BOOM.

[Haole Girl]

3. I wish I could see it.

I've seen a take-off... that was amazing.

[cwydro]

4. Thanks for posting!

Damn, wish they were coming down in FL.

[A HERETIC I AM]

5. NASA TV link

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

[backscatter712]

6. The speed boggles the mind.

As I type, Atlantis is northwest of Hawaii, and in half an hour, it will land in California.

:wow:

[Buzz Clik]

8. Still traveling at Mach 15.

10,000 mph

[Buzz Clik]

7. cool

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

These entries/landings make me appreciate my bumpy airline rides a bit more.

[Towlie]

9. 11:28 AM: CNN banner just said "Atlantis continues to orbit waiting for good weather to land."

[Towlie]

10. But MSNBC is showing the approach.

[konnichi wa]

11. LOL! That's some really low orbit!

zoooooooooooooooooom


:rofl:

[johnnie]

12. Atlantis is home

Beautiful touchdown

[Towlie]

13. It seemed weird how nobody came out to greet them. The shuttle just sat there alone for a long time.

Why?

[TheMightyFavog]

14. There's some really nasty chemicals surrounding the shuttle when it lands.

I can't remember if it's from the maneuvering thrusters or a byproduct of reentry or what. That stuff does really nasty damage to your lungs if you breathe it in. I remember they were warning people not to get near the debris when Columbia broke up because of this. I seem to recall reading somewhere that they bring out big fans to blow the stuff off the orbiter after landing.

[backscatter712]

15. Hypergolics in the RCS thrusters.

IIRC, that would be hydrazine and hydrogen peroxide, at high concentrations. Mix them together, they spontaneously and explosively combust - that's what makes them rocket fuel. Get any of that shit on you and you're in a world of hurt!

The Shuttle crew has to go through a lengthy safing procedure to make sure the RCS thrusters are properly shut down, there's nothing leaking, and so on before the ground crews will approach.

[tj2001]

16. Nitrogen tetroxide

is what they use for oxidizer...

[backscatter712]

17. Ah. I stand corrected.

Definitely hypergolic, very nasty and dangerous.

I remember hearing talk about the next-generation vehicles (Ares and Orion) doing away with hypergolic propellants in the RCS thrusters - the replacements don't have the high specific impulse, but at the same time, aren't so toxic and dangerous. Anybody know if that's going anywhere?