Postponed Launch of Shuttle

[spacedog12]

I'm new here, but it's nice to see so much thought and information being shared. Here's my question: Is there a record for the most number of days a fully loaded spacecraft (shuttle) has sat on the pad, waiting for launch, and is there any danger of other problems developing as a result of it just sitting there?

 

[MeteorWayne]

Welcome to Space.com!!<br /><br />What do you mean by fully loaded?<br />Of course the propellant isn't loaded until just hours before the launch, so in a sense it never sits there fully loaded.<br /><br />The Hydrogen and oxygen for the fuel cells is loaded only a few days before launch.<br /><br />If you mean a shuttle ready to launch except for those materials, unfortunately I don't know the answer off the top of my head. When I find some time, I'll try and find out, or if I'm lucky, someone who knows will pop up.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[henryhallam]

How long can the hypergolics sit in the tanks?

 

[alokmohan]

hypergolic propellnt?

 

[spacedog12]

Actually, I am aware that the tanks are empty, but the new lab is in the cargo bay and all of their flight equipment, food stores, etc are on board. Less propellant and astronauts, it's fully loaded and waiting for fuel. Normally it sits at the pad for a week. Has one ever sat there for two months with a full payload bay?

 

[qso1]

Hypergolic propellant is fuel and oxidizer that ignite upon being mixed, see the link for more info.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypergolic <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>