The Space Shuttle History Pt. 2 – Satellite Launcher and Repairman

Guest Speaker

Thursday, 17th December 2020 (19:45 - 22:00)

Venue: Virtual Meeting

The Space Shuttle History – Satellite Launcher and Repairman

Part 2 discusses a typical launch sequence and shows short movies from different angles that explains the various phases of a ride to orbit. The losses of the Shuttle orbiters Challenger and Columbia are also discussed. In the early years of the Shuttle program the orbiters were used for launching a wide variety of satellites. The Space Transportation System to give the program its correct title was intended to replace all expendable rockets. However the Shuttle proved to be very expensive to maintain. Instead of launching every 2 weeks as promised, turnaround times between launches were taking months. In the end this Space Transportation System proved too expensive for commercial operators and expendable rocket launches carrying communications satellites to geo-stationary continued to be used. As a satellite launcher the Shuttle was not very successful. However in the field of satellite repair and retrieval it proved spectacularly successful. This ability to do maintenance of satellites in orbit was a unique capability that the US lost when the Shuttle was retired in 2011.

Speaker: Peter Rea

Learn more about Peter Rea