![]() ![]() Lucid, who has spent the past six months conducting research aboard Mir and is eager to get back to husband and family. Once Atlantis is linked to Russia's orbiting lab, the shuttle crew will begin transferring more than 2 tons of supplies to their colleagues and, in turn, loading more than a ton of research samples and hardware bound for Russia and the European Space Agency, as well as for the US. The timetable calls for the Atlantis crew to dock with Mir tomorrow at 10:17 p.m. But after calculating the extra amount of fuel the orbiter would burn to accomplish a quicker docking with Mir, planners opted to stick to the original schedule. Initially, mission planners considered speeding up the timetable to bring Atlantis and its crew home sooner. In principle, the shuttle can land successfully with only one APU operating, according to shuttle designer Rockwell International. The balky APU shut down about the time Atlantis shut off its main engines as it reached orbit.Īlthough Atlantis's two remaining auxiliary power units work, "any time you lose redundancy, it's a concern," she says. They also steer the nozzles for Atlantis's three huge main engines, a function vital to achieving a desired orbit.įlight controllers saw indications prior to launch that one of the APUs might have a problem, but the sensor signals were sporadic, according to Pam Alloway, a spokeswoman at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The hydraulic systems control the wing flaps, rudder, and landing gear critical to landing the shuttle. Known as auxiliary power units (APUs), the 88-pound turbines power the pumps that keep fluid in the craft's hydraulic systems pressurized. ![]() Shortly after the shuttle Atlantis arched skyward yesterday morning, one of three devices vital to controlling the shuttle during launch and landing failed. Thank you so much for supporting! If you would like to help out extra, please share this project on MOCpages or Flickr, or simply tell your friends.As space-shuttle officials prepare the "Welcome Home" sign for astronaut Shannon Lucid, who has set records during her time aboard Russia's Mir space station, they are keeping a wary eye on the orbiter that will bring her back. I could have done Challenger, but Atlantis was the last space shuttle to fly, so as a historic set, it makes more sense. Discovery had already been made into a set, and Endeavor is currently another Ideas project. Why Atlantis? Well, as a Star Trek fan, my first choice was Enterprise, but after some research I discovered that particular shuttle never actually left the atmosphere, which I found a bit disappointing. OMS (orbital maneuvering system) thrusters in the nose and aft section (As a LEGO space fan this admittedly bothers me somewhat.) That was the primary inspiration for my project to close that gap in LEGO's space themed sets and improve upon sets like 10231 Shuttle Expedition and 7470-1 Space Shuttle Discovery.Īs a UCS-style set, detail and accuracy is key. Never before has The LEGO Group released a truly minifigure-scale Space Shuttle, even though most previous sets included minifigs. ![]()
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