Even After 75 Years, These Pictures Are Exciting For Us
The Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System (STS), is an American spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. The first of four test flights occurred in 1981, which were followed by operational flights beginning in 1982. The system is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches. Major missions have included launching numerous satellites and interplanetary probes, conducting space science experiments, and servicing and construction of space stations. The Shuttle has been used for orbital space missions by NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the European Space Agency, and Germany. The United States funded STS development and shuttle operations.
After Apollo Paul Moved To The Space Shuttle Program
I became a Senior Project Engineer for the Avionics Systems on the Shuttle which meant my job was to oversee change management and assure the design groups were talking to each other... You cannot image how an organization of 15,000 people can get disconnected so easily!
I worked for Don Whitman (A VP) and Edward Smith (Chief Engineer). These were good days.
The Most Fun - Avionics Development Laboratory
I was tapped to run an avionics development lab during the start of the Space Shuttle Program. It was great as it was "development" so I was not tied to the usual constraints of the aerospace program and we were integrating a series of boxes into a system... Something not done at this campus of Rockwell before. Under the leadership of Sy Rubenstein we made this lab into a world class operation!
I Took On Some Specialty Jobs For A While
I spent about four years in "Payload Integration" which meant we tried to figure out how to put payloads into the Shuttle. It's not as easy as it sounds as one has to make sure the payload can withstand space flight and not come apart, how to operate it from the sealed cockpit without having to redesign the cockpit every flight, etc.
We were there making pieces of the complex world work together. It was an amazing time until the 2000's and then the company stopped working as an entity.
The Last Shuttle Missions
It is the end for the Space Shuttle as NASA plans to retire this vehicle after 130+ launches. See the manifest as it is planned today.