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How would a real modern day space shuttle operate without satellites or any kind of communications signals?
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what role do satellites, communication towers, GPS, etc. play in the operation of, and specifically the landing of, a space shuttle? If those and any other human-made things suddenly disappeared, could an astronaut in a shuttle in space still return to earth and land manually?
space space-travel spaceships rockets satellites
asked 38 mins ago
Jon James
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up vote
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what role do satellites, communication towers, GPS, etc. play in the operation of, and specifically the landing of, a space shuttle? If those and any other human-made things suddenly disappeared, could an astronaut in a shuttle in space still return to earth and land manually?
space space-travel spaceships rockets satellites
asked 38 mins ago
Jon James
692
1
The key is going to be starting deorbit at exactly the right moment. Getting a position based on sighting stars is enough for large-scale positioning, but the shuttle needs to land in a very specific area with relatively little control. That is different from Mercury/Gemini/Apollo/Soyuz that can all land in a much larger area.
– manassehkatz
23 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
what role do satellites, communication towers, GPS, etc. play in the operation of, and specifically the landing of, a space shuttle? If those and any other human-made things suddenly disappeared, could an astronaut in a shuttle in space still return to earth and land manually?
space space-travel spaceships rockets satellites
asked 38 mins ago
Jon James
692
what role do satellites, communication towers, GPS, etc. play in the operation of, and specifically the landing of, a space shuttle? If those and any other human-made things suddenly disappeared, could an astronaut in a shuttle in space still return to earth and land manually?
space space-travel spaceships rockets satellites
space space-travel spaceships rockets satellites
asked 38 mins ago
Jon James
692
asked 38 mins ago
Jon James
692
asked 38 mins ago
Jon James
692
asked 38 mins ago
Jon James
692
asked 38 mins ago
Jon James
692
692
1
The key is going to be starting deorbit at exactly the right moment. Getting a position based on sighting stars is enough for large-scale positioning, but the shuttle needs to land in a very specific area with relatively little control. That is different from Mercury/Gemini/Apollo/Soyuz that can all land in a much larger area.
– manassehkatz
23 mins ago
add a comment |Â
1
The key is going to be starting deorbit at exactly the right moment. Getting a position based on sighting stars is enough for large-scale positioning, but the shuttle needs to land in a very specific area with relatively little control. That is different from Mercury/Gemini/Apollo/Soyuz that can all land in a much larger area.
– manassehkatz
23 mins ago
1
1
The key is going to be starting deorbit at exactly the right moment. Getting a position based on sighting stars is enough for large-scale positioning, but the shuttle needs to land in a very specific area with relatively little control. That is different from Mercury/Gemini/Apollo/Soyuz that can all land in a much larger area.
– manassehkatz
23 mins ago
The key is going to be starting deorbit at exactly the right moment. Getting a position based on sighting stars is enough for large-scale positioning, but the shuttle needs to land in a very specific area with relatively little control. That is different from Mercury/Gemini/Apollo/Soyuz that can all land in a much larger area.
– manassehkatz
23 mins ago
add a comment |Â
3 Answers
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"How would a real modern day space shuttle operate without satellites or any kind of communications signals?"
Very carefully. As long as the astronaut was capable of doing the math on his/her own, there's no reason they couldn't land safely. The issue is, once the astronaut lands (crashes into the water), there's no guarantee they will be found by their government. Fortunately, 71% of the surface is water. Even if he was guessing randomly, there's only a 29% chance he'd fail. That doesn't mean he can slack off though.
answered 25 mins ago
Sora Tamashii
1413
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It is possible to land a space shuttle without communication. They can compute a flight path with their onboard computer, they have all the information necessary to do that.
Aiming precisely might be a bit harder as they lock on a radio signal, much like planes do, to precisely orient themselves and keep a level approach to the landing strip. Without that homing signal, it would be harder, though not impossible, to land at whichever of the few places worldwide that were made to accommodate the space shuttle.
answered 22 mins ago
Sava
751112
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1
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Well, the space shuttle could land quite effectively without GPS; we know that because the first space shuttle flights were in 1981, and the GPS grid wasn't active until 1995.
To be fair, the initial project by the US government to implement GPS in 1973, but it's not believed that the system was operational before 1995. In any event, although they didn't have to land like the space shuttle, the Apollo Missions wouldn't have had access to GPS in order to know where they were and they landed reasonably well in their (admittedly large) landing zone.
If you think of the space shuttle as a glorified plane (and you shouldn't, but for simplicity's sake), then once you've re-entered the atmosphere landing isn't that much different to what pilots did before radar, air traffic control, radio, etc. You do your own math, you observe your surroundings and line the plane up with your eyes rather than instrumentation.
That said, re-entry is the hard bit. You have to know how and when to get the shuttle to re-enter, you have to know the right angles to approach on, etc. It can be done by someone without ground support, but that person would have to be very precise, knowledgeable and perceptive about where their craft is in relation to the Earth. It wouldn't be easy. Ideally, you'd have a number of landing sites around the world to cover off every contingency, you'd make the craft more aerodynamic, give it emergency fuel loads so that it can achieve even limited powered flight in the atmosphere, and then hope like crazy that your pilot doesn't accidently re-enter with a landing vector right in the middle of the Pacific.
Ultimately, what all these satellites, comms and other tools do is allow for better precision, not for ACTUAL landing skill. That still comes into the hands of the pilot. Without them, your pilot has to be better than they have to be with a small army of ground support just a call away, and you need to be prepared for more contingencies. Once you do that though, the shuttle (in theory) can be landed without all that support, albeit with a level of risk that an organisation like NASA would find unacceptable.
answered 14 mins ago
Tim B II
21.8k54791
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3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
"How would a real modern day space shuttle operate without satellites or any kind of communications signals?"
Very carefully. As long as the astronaut was capable of doing the math on his/her own, there's no reason they couldn't land safely. The issue is, once the astronaut lands (crashes into the water), there's no guarantee they will be found by their government. Fortunately, 71% of the surface is water. Even if he was guessing randomly, there's only a 29% chance he'd fail. That doesn't mean he can slack off though.
answered 25 mins ago
Sora Tamashii
1413
New contributor
Sora Tamashii is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
"How would a real modern day space shuttle operate without satellites or any kind of communications signals?"
Very carefully. As long as the astronaut was capable of doing the math on his/her own, there's no reason they couldn't land safely. The issue is, once the astronaut lands (crashes into the water), there's no guarantee they will be found by their government. Fortunately, 71% of the surface is water. Even if he was guessing randomly, there's only a 29% chance he'd fail. That doesn't mean he can slack off though.
answered 25 mins ago
Sora Tamashii
1413
New contributor
Sora Tamashii is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
"How would a real modern day space shuttle operate without satellites or any kind of communications signals?"
Very carefully. As long as the astronaut was capable of doing the math on his/her own, there's no reason they couldn't land safely. The issue is, once the astronaut lands (crashes into the water), there's no guarantee they will be found by their government. Fortunately, 71% of the surface is water. Even if he was guessing randomly, there's only a 29% chance he'd fail. That doesn't mean he can slack off though.
answered 25 mins ago
Sora Tamashii
1413
New contributor
Sora Tamashii is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
"How would a real modern day space shuttle operate without satellites or any kind of communications signals?"
Very carefully. As long as the astronaut was capable of doing the math on his/her own, there's no reason they couldn't land safely. The issue is, once the astronaut lands (crashes into the water), there's no guarantee they will be found by their government. Fortunately, 71% of the surface is water. Even if he was guessing randomly, there's only a 29% chance he'd fail. That doesn't mean he can slack off though.
answered 25 mins ago
Sora Tamashii
1413
New contributor
Sora Tamashii is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 25 mins ago
Sora Tamashii
1413
New contributor
Sora Tamashii is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 25 mins ago
Sora Tamashii
1413
answered 25 mins ago
Sora Tamashii
1413
1413
New contributor
Sora Tamashii is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Sora Tamashii is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Sora Tamashii is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
It is possible to land a space shuttle without communication. They can compute a flight path with their onboard computer, they have all the information necessary to do that.
Aiming precisely might be a bit harder as they lock on a radio signal, much like planes do, to precisely orient themselves and keep a level approach to the landing strip. Without that homing signal, it would be harder, though not impossible, to land at whichever of the few places worldwide that were made to accommodate the space shuttle.
answered 22 mins ago
Sava
751112
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
It is possible to land a space shuttle without communication. They can compute a flight path with their onboard computer, they have all the information necessary to do that.
Aiming precisely might be a bit harder as they lock on a radio signal, much like planes do, to precisely orient themselves and keep a level approach to the landing strip. Without that homing signal, it would be harder, though not impossible, to land at whichever of the few places worldwide that were made to accommodate the space shuttle.
answered 22 mins ago
Sava
751112
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
It is possible to land a space shuttle without communication. They can compute a flight path with their onboard computer, they have all the information necessary to do that.
Aiming precisely might be a bit harder as they lock on a radio signal, much like planes do, to precisely orient themselves and keep a level approach to the landing strip. Without that homing signal, it would be harder, though not impossible, to land at whichever of the few places worldwide that were made to accommodate the space shuttle.
answered 22 mins ago
Sava
751112
It is possible to land a space shuttle without communication. They can compute a flight path with their onboard computer, they have all the information necessary to do that.
Aiming precisely might be a bit harder as they lock on a radio signal, much like planes do, to precisely orient themselves and keep a level approach to the landing strip. Without that homing signal, it would be harder, though not impossible, to land at whichever of the few places worldwide that were made to accommodate the space shuttle.
answered 22 mins ago
Sava
751112
answered 22 mins ago
Sava
751112
answered 22 mins ago
Sava
751112
answered 22 mins ago
Sava
751112
751112
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Well, the space shuttle could land quite effectively without GPS; we know that because the first space shuttle flights were in 1981, and the GPS grid wasn't active until 1995.
To be fair, the initial project by the US government to implement GPS in 1973, but it's not believed that the system was operational before 1995. In any event, although they didn't have to land like the space shuttle, the Apollo Missions wouldn't have had access to GPS in order to know where they were and they landed reasonably well in their (admittedly large) landing zone.
If you think of the space shuttle as a glorified plane (and you shouldn't, but for simplicity's sake), then once you've re-entered the atmosphere landing isn't that much different to what pilots did before radar, air traffic control, radio, etc. You do your own math, you observe your surroundings and line the plane up with your eyes rather than instrumentation.
That said, re-entry is the hard bit. You have to know how and when to get the shuttle to re-enter, you have to know the right angles to approach on, etc. It can be done by someone without ground support, but that person would have to be very precise, knowledgeable and perceptive about where their craft is in relation to the Earth. It wouldn't be easy. Ideally, you'd have a number of landing sites around the world to cover off every contingency, you'd make the craft more aerodynamic, give it emergency fuel loads so that it can achieve even limited powered flight in the atmosphere, and then hope like crazy that your pilot doesn't accidently re-enter with a landing vector right in the middle of the Pacific.
Ultimately, what all these satellites, comms and other tools do is allow for better precision, not for ACTUAL landing skill. That still comes into the hands of the pilot. Without them, your pilot has to be better than they have to be with a small army of ground support just a call away, and you need to be prepared for more contingencies. Once you do that though, the shuttle (in theory) can be landed without all that support, albeit with a level of risk that an organisation like NASA would find unacceptable.
answered 14 mins ago
Tim B II
21.8k54791
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Well, the space shuttle could land quite effectively without GPS; we know that because the first space shuttle flights were in 1981, and the GPS grid wasn't active until 1995.
To be fair, the initial project by the US government to implement GPS in 1973, but it's not believed that the system was operational before 1995. In any event, although they didn't have to land like the space shuttle, the Apollo Missions wouldn't have had access to GPS in order to know where they were and they landed reasonably well in their (admittedly large) landing zone.
If you think of the space shuttle as a glorified plane (and you shouldn't, but for simplicity's sake), then once you've re-entered the atmosphere landing isn't that much different to what pilots did before radar, air traffic control, radio, etc. You do your own math, you observe your surroundings and line the plane up with your eyes rather than instrumentation.
That said, re-entry is the hard bit. You have to know how and when to get the shuttle to re-enter, you have to know the right angles to approach on, etc. It can be done by someone without ground support, but that person would have to be very precise, knowledgeable and perceptive about where their craft is in relation to the Earth. It wouldn't be easy. Ideally, you'd have a number of landing sites around the world to cover off every contingency, you'd make the craft more aerodynamic, give it emergency fuel loads so that it can achieve even limited powered flight in the atmosphere, and then hope like crazy that your pilot doesn't accidently re-enter with a landing vector right in the middle of the Pacific.
Ultimately, what all these satellites, comms and other tools do is allow for better precision, not for ACTUAL landing skill. That still comes into the hands of the pilot. Without them, your pilot has to be better than they have to be with a small army of ground support just a call away, and you need to be prepared for more contingencies. Once you do that though, the shuttle (in theory) can be landed without all that support, albeit with a level of risk that an organisation like NASA would find unacceptable.
answered 14 mins ago
Tim B II
21.8k54791
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
Well, the space shuttle could land quite effectively without GPS; we know that because the first space shuttle flights were in 1981, and the GPS grid wasn't active until 1995.
To be fair, the initial project by the US government to implement GPS in 1973, but it's not believed that the system was operational before 1995. In any event, although they didn't have to land like the space shuttle, the Apollo Missions wouldn't have had access to GPS in order to know where they were and they landed reasonably well in their (admittedly large) landing zone.
If you think of the space shuttle as a glorified plane (and you shouldn't, but for simplicity's sake), then once you've re-entered the atmosphere landing isn't that much different to what pilots did before radar, air traffic control, radio, etc. You do your own math, you observe your surroundings and line the plane up with your eyes rather than instrumentation.
That said, re-entry is the hard bit. You have to know how and when to get the shuttle to re-enter, you have to know the right angles to approach on, etc. It can be done by someone without ground support, but that person would have to be very precise, knowledgeable and perceptive about where their craft is in relation to the Earth. It wouldn't be easy. Ideally, you'd have a number of landing sites around the world to cover off every contingency, you'd make the craft more aerodynamic, give it emergency fuel loads so that it can achieve even limited powered flight in the atmosphere, and then hope like crazy that your pilot doesn't accidently re-enter with a landing vector right in the middle of the Pacific.
Ultimately, what all these satellites, comms and other tools do is allow for better precision, not for ACTUAL landing skill. That still comes into the hands of the pilot. Without them, your pilot has to be better than they have to be with a small army of ground support just a call away, and you need to be prepared for more contingencies. Once you do that though, the shuttle (in theory) can be landed without all that support, albeit with a level of risk that an organisation like NASA would find unacceptable.
answered 14 mins ago
Tim B II
21.8k54791
Well, the space shuttle could land quite effectively without GPS; we know that because the first space shuttle flights were in 1981, and the GPS grid wasn't active until 1995.
To be fair, the initial project by the US government to implement GPS in 1973, but it's not believed that the system was operational before 1995. In any event, although they didn't have to land like the space shuttle, the Apollo Missions wouldn't have had access to GPS in order to know where they were and they landed reasonably well in their (admittedly large) landing zone.
If you think of the space shuttle as a glorified plane (and you shouldn't, but for simplicity's sake), then once you've re-entered the atmosphere landing isn't that much different to what pilots did before radar, air traffic control, radio, etc. You do your own math, you observe your surroundings and line the plane up with your eyes rather than instrumentation.
That said, re-entry is the hard bit. You have to know how and when to get the shuttle to re-enter, you have to know the right angles to approach on, etc. It can be done by someone without ground support, but that person would have to be very precise, knowledgeable and perceptive about where their craft is in relation to the Earth. It wouldn't be easy. Ideally, you'd have a number of landing sites around the world to cover off every contingency, you'd make the craft more aerodynamic, give it emergency fuel loads so that it can achieve even limited powered flight in the atmosphere, and then hope like crazy that your pilot doesn't accidently re-enter with a landing vector right in the middle of the Pacific.
Ultimately, what all these satellites, comms and other tools do is allow for better precision, not for ACTUAL landing skill. That still comes into the hands of the pilot. Without them, your pilot has to be better than they have to be with a small army of ground support just a call away, and you need to be prepared for more contingencies. Once you do that though, the shuttle (in theory) can be landed without all that support, albeit with a level of risk that an organisation like NASA would find unacceptable.
answered 14 mins ago
Tim B II
21.8k54791
answered 14 mins ago
Tim B II
21.8k54791
answered 14 mins ago
Tim B II
21.8k54791
answered 14 mins ago
Tim B II
21.8k54791
21.8k54791
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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1
The key is going to be starting deorbit at exactly the right moment. Getting a position based on sighting stars is enough for large-scale positioning, but the shuttle needs to land in a very specific area with relatively little control. That is different from Mercury/Gemini/Apollo/Soyuz that can all land in a much larger area.
– manassehkatz
23 mins ago