feresr.blogg.se - Orbiter processing facility

They were located west of the Vehicle Assembly Building, where the orbiter was mated with its External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters before transport to the launch pad. All three such facilities, OPF-1, OPF-2 and OPF-3, were located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at Launch Complex 39. space shuttle orbiters underwent maintenance between flights. United Space Alliance.Orbiter Processing Facility This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia ( view authors).Īn Orbiter Processing Facility ( OPF) was one of three hangars where U.S. ↑ "Reliable Shuttle Orbiters Need Special Care".↑ 1.0 1.1 "From Landing to Launch Orbiter Processing" (PDF).This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Udvar-Hazy Center.Įndeavour arrived at the California Science Center on October 14, 2012.Ītlantis rolled out of OPF 2 for the final time on Octoand was moved to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on November 2, 2012. OPF-3 is under lease to Boeing for the manufacture and testing of their CST-100 spacecraft. Boeing is planning construction upgrades on OPF-2 for the X-37B Program, targeted to be complete in December of 2014. Air Force's X-37B Program to use OPF-2 in conjunction with OPF-1. In October 2014, NASA announced an agreement with the U.S. OPF-2 is now inactive following Atlantis's departure on October 18, 2012. In October 2014, NASA announced the signed agreement for the use of the facility, and Boeing is planning construction upgrades on OPF-1 for the X-37B Program, targeted to be complete in December of 2014. Air Force to efficiently land, recover, refurbish, and re-launch the X-37B unmanned spacecraft. In January 2014 it was announced that Boeing will lease the facility to enable the U.S.

OPF-1 was closed following Atlantis' s rollout on June 29, 2012. The last step before rollover to the VAB was weighing the orbiter to determine its center of gravity. Remaining payloads, fuels and fluids were installed on the pad closer to launch day. Prior to rollout to the Vehicle Assembly Building, several weeks before scheduled launch, the orbiter was prepared for the next mission by installing mission flight kits, payloads, consumable fluids and gases where possible. After all its flights, the orbiter went through "Down Mission Processing.".

any modifications to the orbiter were completed in the OPF.

the Orbital Maneuvering System and Reaction Control System pods were possibly removed and transferred to the Hypergol Maintenance Facility for troubleshooting, repair or other services.

any needed repairs on the orbiter's thermal protection system including the thermal blankets and thousands of tiles were completed.

main engines were removed and transferred to the Main Engine Processing Facility for checkout and service.

scaffolding was installed around the orbiters aft to allow technicians to access the main engines.

main engines were locked in place and covers installed.

heat shields were removed from the engines and aft access were opened.

refuse and other waste products including draining of the potable water system were offloaded.

high pressure gases were vented from the environmental control and life support systems.

The oxygen system was rendered inert with gaseous nitrogen and the hydrogen system with gaseous helium.

fuel cells tanks were drained of remaining cryogenic reactants.

payload bay doors were opened and any hazardous payloads were processed for safety.

The orbiter's main engines were purged to remove the moisture that was a by-product of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen combustion.

Any remaining payloads from the previous mission were removed and the vehicle was fully inspected, tested, and refurbished. When a shuttle mission was completed, the orbiter was towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility to its assigned OPF where it spent several months (typically less than 100 days) being prepared for the next mission. Discovery inside OPF-3 following the completion of mission STS-114