CAPE CANAVERAL With 26 missions and 107 million miles in orbit under her belt, NASAs oldest shuttle is about to begin an extended sabbatical from space.
When she returns to service in 2001, Columbia will sport flat-panel color displays in her cockpit, a satellite navigation system, new flooring in the crew cabin and about 4,000 other improvements.
Columbia also will be about 1,000 pounds lighter and better able to shuttle people and supplies to and from the International Space Station, if needed.
The refurbishment, which will take place at Boeing North Americas Palmdale, Calif. facility, is part of a mandatory structural inspection and overhaul that each of the space shuttles undergoes about every three years. Columbia, which began flying in 1981, already has been through the refurbishment twice.
Nevertheless, says, Charlie Williams, Boeings associate program director for Orbiter Major Modifications, "this one is unique."
Aside from the equipment upgrades, Columbia will be stripped of a half-tons worth of obsolete wiring that was originally installed for testing and monitoring of NASAs first orbiter. The decision to remove the extra wires was made before Columbia experienced an electrical short circuit during its last launch, which took out two key main engine computers. The problem was traced to a damaged wire in the shuttles cargo bay.
After Columbias flight, NASA grounded the entire shuttle fleet to look for potentially hazardous wires and install protective tubing and other insulation. Three shuttles Endeavour, Discovery and Atlantis are being inspected at the Kennedy Space Center. Columbia, however, will be probed and repaired as part of its scheduled maintenance and overhaul in California.
The shuttle is expected to leave Florida on Sept. 23 for a two-day cross-country ferry flight. It will travel piggyback-style on top of a Boeing 747 jet carrier to California, where Williams and his team will be waiting. They are committed to completing their work in 293 days 31 fewer days than ever before.
"When I saw the shuttle lift off on its last mission I had two distinct emotions," said Williams. "I saw it roll over and clear the launch tower and I was so excited. Then it dawned on me that I had I had five (flight days) and 55 days (for post-launch processing in Florida) and then it was going to be turned over to me and I would have to perform. Theres definitely some adrenaline that all the planning will have to come together to get this done in 293 days."
The job list is likely to grow past 7,000 items before Columbia is ready to be returned to Florida for flight. The tasks include:
* removing diagnostic wiring from the shuttles wings, tail cone and forward areas,
* reconnecting and testing wires,
* modifying the shuttle for a new airlock,
* reinforcing the flooring in the shuttles crew cabin,
* conducting structural inspections,
* checking and repairing Columbias heat-resistant tiles and blankets,
* inspecting an extended life dry lubrication used on the shuttles landing gear,
* installing a new Global Positioning System based satellite navigation system,
* replacing seals on Columbias payload bay doors,
* installing new equipment in Columbias cockpit that will replace Columbias existing cathode ray tube screens, mechanical gauges and instruments with full-color flat-panel displays, similar to those used on modern commercial and military aircraft.
The $70 million to $80 million upgrade also includes one cosmetic makeover. Columbia will lose its 70s-era NASA logo, with the letters all connected worm-like, in favor the re-adopted 60s logo, affectionately referred to as "the meatball." Eradicating NASAs worm writing has been a pet project of agency administrator Dan Goldin.
advertisement
