🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1989Dec21.174304.9072@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> hogg@db.toronto.edu (John Hogg) writes:

   In article <SHAFER.89Dec21092942@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov> shafer@elxsi.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer (OFV)) writes:
   >There's no way to get the Shuttle to Hawaii safely and uncorroded.  It
   >would have to be deck cargo on a ship and would be damaged before it
   >ever arrived, since Hawaii is beyond 747 range.

   While a number of major problems with Hawaii as a launch site have been
   pointed out, I think that Mary's a bit harsh on shuttle transportation
   by ship.  Aircraft are regularly carried by specialized vessels
   (they're called ``aircraft carriers''); launchers right up to Saturn
   first stages have been moved to KSC by barge; and the SRBs *land* in
   salt water after each flight.

   Granting that shuttles are a bit more delicate than these other
   examples, they still spend most of their lives in the middle of a salt
   marsh on a seacoast.

I keep thinking about that "convertible" Hawaiian 737.  The Hawaiian
climate, characterized as extremely adverse for aircraft, was regarded
as a major factor in that accident by the NTSB.  Hawaii is a lot warmer
that Florida year-round and this accelerated corrosion damage.

The planes that go on carriers were built just for that purpose and
corrosion control is an extremely important issue, starting before
they cut metal.  

The Shuttle can barely stay out in the rain without everyone getting
excited.

   A simple hangar
   structure could seal out the spray, and even allow air conditioning and
   dehumidification.  The shuttle wouldn't simply be dumped on the top
   layer of a container ship's cargo!

And how long would we have to wait and what would we pay for this?
The 747 is pretty minimum-care--it sits here in our nice dry desert.
It's not out growing barnacles in somebody's dock.

   For the
   present setup, of course, it makes absolutely no sense.  Edwards lacks
   a year-round ice-free harbour.

Well, it's not a deep-water harbour, but Dryden is on Lakeshore Drive.
We do have waterskiing in the winter--we just use a helicopter! :-)
--

Mary Shafer  shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov or ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer
         NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
                   Of course I don't speak for NASA