the shuttle

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jtkirk1701

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if the shuttle was launched into space. how long could the physical structure of the craft stay in space without loosing integrety???? how much time can the craft stay up with out returning to nasa for up grades???
 
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lunatio_gordin

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the power supply is extremely limited. The normal duration of a mission is probably about as long as it could remain powered up. so, usable for about 2 weeks...
 
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spacester

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If you wanted to mothball it in space for some reason (if that's what you're asking) yes, it could be put in a high enough orbit that it would stay up there for hundreds of years without reboost. And it would stay in one piece.<br /><br />You might even be able to put it up that high after a mission to ISS, I'm not sure. But you ain't coming back in one piece. At least not until another vehicle is built and flown to go tow her back.<br /><br />After 2 weeks or so, she would be dead, and after a few years it's doubtful she could be brought back to even on-orbit operations capability. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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drwayne

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You are going to need some other means than the shuttle itself to get it into an orbit that won't decay for a long time. <br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>
 
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viper101

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SG - can you explain how the Soyuz capsules are considered space-worthy for six-months at a time, but the Shuttles have to be brought back - I don't doubt this is the case, I am just curious to learn why. Obviously, the shuttle runs out of power, but from what I've read in the forums, it seems that supplying addtional power (ie. A big solar panel - like they flew long, long ago) would not help. <br /><br />Would just like to know more more about why this is the case. <br /><br />Another way to phrase this question - what would have to be done to make the shuttle a space-worthy vehicle for months on end, such that one could be docked at ISS for extended periods? <br /><br />Thanks in advance.
 
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mrmorris

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<font color="yellow">"... how the Soyuz capsules are considered space-worthy for six-months at a time..."</font><br /><br />I haven't studied the Soyuz in great detail -- namely because I haven't been able to find a fraction of the detail on it that I have the Gemini and Apollo designs. However, I can make some reasonable guesses based on the data I have found and on what I learned while researching capsules in general.<br /><br />- The Soyuz has no cryogenics to boil off.<br />- The orbital module has solar panels to provide long-term power. The Soyuz doesn't require <b>nearly</b> as much power as the shuttle, so these panels can provide full power to the systems essentially indefinitely.<br />- In space, <b>generally</b> you have a bigger problem with too much heat rather than too little, as the electronics & crew generate more heat that must be radiated to space. This isn't true of the shuttle because it's so flipping huge (more radiating area and heat-generating equipment more dispersed). With the solar panels, equipment on board the Soyuz can be kept running (if necessary) to generate enough heat to keep the H2O tanks/etc. from freezing. Alternately -- they may have tuned the exterior of the Soyuz for heat absorption/radiation such that it maintains a reasonable temperature simply from solar flux.<br />- The Soyuz has both a primary space radiator and a pair of sequencing space radiators on the propulsion module. These will be used to radiate heat when the crew is onboard and the electronics are running nominally. While the Soyuz is docked, these radiators can be either shut down or run at a much lower rate to retain more heat.<br /><br />What it really boils down to is that the Soyuz was designed to stay on orbit for months and the orbiters weren't. Had it been a design criteria, there are probably ways that the short-poles could have been handled: zero-boil-off tanks for the fuel cells, putting heat-sources near cold-damagable components, usin
 
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frodo1008

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I really don't know the answer to this, so I will ask you, but anyone who knows can answer.<br /><br />If the soyuz was completely on its own, and not attached to the ISS, could it survive just as long? In particular with a crew on board? I do know that the soyuz capsule is itself very small ( there were originally restrictions of the height of cosmonauts, but I don't know if this still applies), but being so small I don't really see how there could be enough consumables on board to last some six months! I am NOT being negative towars the soyuz (or positive towards the shuttle for that matter) I am just being curious towards a factor that some may not have considered. Answer please?
 
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jtkirk1701

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what kinda of vehicle would you have to have that was assembled in space to stay in space. that could also go back and forth to the moon, dock with the station, carry supplies, building materials.crew rotations, etc?
 
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