Aalice.162
net.columbia
utzoo!decvax!duke!chico!harpo!research!alice!sjb
Sat Nov 14 17:27:17 1981
SHUTTLE LANDING FLAWLESS
The Columbia sailed home today to a flawless landing,
described by some as better than the last time, at
Rogers Dry Lake, Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Right on time the shuttle glided in (falling like a
rock) to a smooth landing. Though Joe Engle was able to
complete some of the maneuvers planned to test the
shuttle's handling, he could not perform the crosswinds
testing as the headwinds were too strong. The orbiter
is to be flown piggyback on a modified 747 back to
Cape Canaveral, via Houston, in 9 days. There it will
be extensively examined, fitted with a new external tank
and two new SRB's (the ones used in this flight will be
reused in the future), and prepared for an early March, 1982,
lift off for STS-3.
Meanwhile, divers were successful in filling on of the bobbing
SRB's, which have now drifted about 50 miles closer to Cape
Canaveral, with air but could not get to the other one. Even
if they did it today, they would have to wait until tomorrow
to tow them back to the Cape. Refurbishment costs are estimated
at $14.1 millions a piece, as opposed to $50 million for buying
a new one.
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