Orbiter Challenger missions to the ISS???

[colchadisatlend]

Hello everyone. I had a interesting, hypothetical question that perhaps someone like shuttleguy could shed some light on:<br /><br />Suppose back in 1986, instead of Challenger being lost, either Discovery or Atlantis was lost....for the sake of this scenerio to make it easier, we'll say Discovery was lost. <br /><br />Endeavour is built to replace Discovery, and the fleet consists of 2 heavier orbiters (Columbia and Challenger) and 2 lighter ones (Altantis and Endeavour). <br /><br />Now along comes the ISS station constuction in the late 90s. So here is my main question:<br /><br />What role would Challenger have played in constructing the ISS if she still existed? Would she be too heavy to do most ISS missions and be negated to mostly non-ISS missions , such as EDO, spacelab, and space science missions like Columbia was? Or would she have been able to do most of the same missions as her lighter sister ships Discovery, Atlantis, and her eventual replacement Endeavour?<br /><br />I know Challenger was heavier than Discovery and Atlantis, but she was also lighter than Columbia. Also, she seemed to be the orbiter NASA preferred to use in lifting the massive and very heavy TDRSS Satellites. If she was able to lift the very heavy TDRSS satellites, could she have done many of the same missions Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour are capable of at the 51.6 degree inclination?<br /><br />Any feedback, comments, or opinions on this would be welcomed. I love the shuttle and I have always been curious how Challenger would have been used in ISS construction if another orbiter was lost instead of her....Being lighter than Columbia, but heavier than Discovery, Altantis, and Endeavour, she was truly the most unique orbiter of the fleet!

 

[jimfromnsf]

Columbia was 6klb more than the other orbiters. Challenger was much closer to the other orbiters. There are only a few ISS payloads (trusses) that Challenger couldn't do. So it wouldn't have really matter, it could have supported the ISS .

 

[bpcooper]

Columbia was scheduled for STS-118 when it was lost, so there is no reason why not. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>-Ben</p> </div>