Shuttle in the sea of time...

[Chris]

I've tossed all of britain back in time (see below), and Thande is tackling the Moon, so what about something a little smaller...?

An entire space shuttle in orbit falls back in time to the day that Yuri G. made his first space flight...

What happens next?

Chris

[Thande]

I actually thought of doing this one with the modern ISS being ISOTed back to 1906. But this works too.

Are there even any runways capable of taking a landing space shuttle in that era?

[chunkeymonkey13q]

What would happen if they just attempted to land without the runway? Obviously there would be (repairable) damage to the shuttle, but what else, anything?

[Mike Stearns]

The Americans win the Space Race without even trying. As for landinf the shuttle, I don't know if there are any runways long enough for the shuttle in the 1960s, but if there are any, they'd probably be on the west coast. Which means that shuttle is probably comming down at Vandenburg or Edwards.

[Chris]

The Americans win the Space Race without even trying.

Not that easy. They have to convert the space shuttle to useable tech, but learning about how NASA will just drop the ball in the future should force them forward. It would depend how much the soviets find out.

Chris

[Mike Stearns]

Not that easy. They have to convert the space shuttle to useable tech, but learning about how NASA will just drop the ball in the future should force them forward. It would depend how much the soviets find out.

Chris

Those are good points, but when Yuri Gagarin sees the shuttle fly past and sees the American flag on the wing, his response is going to be "where the hell did THAT come from?" Also the space shuttle was developed in the 1970s, so the technology isn't completely out of reach. So the Americans still win the Space Race without trying.Also there's the simple fact that the Russians were all set to stake their claim as the first country to put a man in space only to find that not only have the Americans beat them there, but they've done with a vehicle that takes a crew of SEVEN.

[chunkeymonkey13q]

Not only that, but all of the advanced technology on the shuttle plus the knowledge that the crew possesses should have an interesting impact.

[Mike Stearns]

Not only that, but all of the advanced technology on the shuttle plus the knowledge that the crew possesses should have an interesting impact.

Yeah. No matter how you slice it, the Space Race is over.

[jolo]

A small problem would occur if the shuttle crew (probably shuttle and NASA fans) didn't warn the US about all the costs and other disadvantages - and omit talking about the tendency to a return to conventional carriers and more privatization atm.

But otoh, the advantages of having this plane would sure outweigh the disadvantages.

[Adam]

I've tossed all of britain back in time (see below), and Thande is tackling the Moon, so what about something a little smaller...?

An entire space shuttle in orbit falls back in time to the day that Yuri G. made his first space flight...

What happens next?

Chris

A huge fleet of IoM Battlecruisers appear above Earth's orbit, and proceeds to invade the globe.:p

[fortyseven]

What's IoM?

[Leej]

That early they can't even use a motorway as a make shift runway...
The best thing would be some really long avenue but how they will explain that to the earthbound people quick enough...Doubtful.
Oh damn its Gagarin not 1906.
Things aren't quite so bad then, there will probally be runways long enough (area 51 for one) or a motorway if need be.


Depends on who is on the shuttle and how the American boffins react really...

[Adam]

What's IoM?

Imperium of Man.

Think of the Holy Roman Empire, mixing in the Inquisition and give them really high-tech weaponry and psionics. Well, that and the fact that's its been at war with the galaxy for 10,000 years.

[jolo]

That early they can't even use a motorway as a make shift runway...
The best thing would be some really long avenue but how they will explain that to the earthbound people quick enough...Doubtful.
Oh damn its Gagarin not 1906.
Things aren't quite so bad then, there will probally be runways long enough (area 51 for one) or a motorway if need be.


Depends on who is on the shuttle and how the American boffins react really...

There are enough salt lakes. But the first radio communications could be really funny...

[Doctor What]

Are there even any runways capable of taking a landing space shuttle in that era?

Shuttle FAQ (http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/landingfac.htm)

NASA--for safety reasons--requires a runway of 15,000 feet length. However--the shuttle is the size of a DC-9, so theoretically it could land on a runway designed for that kind of plane. It will be a high risk landing (it comes in faster than a DC-9) and because the shuttle is a glider when it comes in and not powered like a plane, it will have only one attempt at the landing. I really wouldn't like to be the shuttle pilot who has to make the decision to land.

The prime alternate orbiter landing site, Edwards Air Force Base in California, has several dry lake bed runways and one hard surface runway on which an orbiter can land. The longest strip, part of the 44-square-mile (114-square-kilometer) Rogers Dry Lake, is 7.5 statute miles (12.1 kilometers) long.

Just as a basis of comparison--Orlando International Airport’s longest runway is 12,004 feet (3,659 meters) long and 200 feet (61 meters) wide. The John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York has a runway nearly as long, 14,572 feet (4,441.5 meters), but much narrower at 150 feet (45.7 meters). O’Hare International Airport in Chicago has a runway 13,000 feet (3,962.4 meters) long and 200 feet (61 meters) wide; and Miami International Airport’s longest runway is 13,002 feet (3,963 meters) long by 150 feet (45.7 meters) wide. I have no idea when these runways were build so someone else has to do the research.

Assuming it does come down in one piece--much of the technology was originally designed about ~20 years ahead of that time period, so reverse engineering the tech is doable. Hell--just the spacesuits they have will jumpstart the space tech by a good 5 years immediately even if they can't figure anything else out for a while (early spacesuits were specifically designed for each particular astronaut while the new ones are more "userfriendly").

[Thande]

Here's something Chris didn't make specific in his first post: When is this shuttle from? Now, when the USSR has fallen? Or the 1980s? It makes a BIG difference.

[Chris]

Now, or at least that was what I was intending. 2015 might be funny, lol

Chris

[chunkeymonkey13q]

Aren't they supposedly designing some new type of single stage to orbit vehicle?

[Mike Stearns]

Aren't they supposedly designing some new type of single stage to orbit vehicle?

Actually the operative word is WERE. Lockheed Martin had a project called Venture Star and there was another project called the Delta Clipper,both if which were both SSTO spacecraft and were intended to be possible shuttle replacements, but both of these projects were cancelled about 5 years ago IIRC.

[chunkeymonkey13q]

That's wonderful, maybe the shuttle would be Chinese then...

[Zyzzyva]

I'm not sur what would be so fun about 1906. The shuttle would crash and burn. No landing strips at all.

[Mike Stearns]

I'm not sur what would be so fun about 1906. The shuttle would crash and burn. No landing strips at all.

And no way to reproduce the technology either.

[Thande]

My 1906 reference was for the ISS, not the shuttle...the astronauts would be able to get to Earth in one of the Soyuz escape vehicles, which have no landing requirements, though they're not reusable...

[DuQuense]

Oh :) I can just see a japanese Shuttle landing on the Lake bed at Edwards in 1941:cool: :cool:

[Mike Stearns]

Oh :) I can just see a japanese Shuttle landing on the Lake bed at Edwards in 1941:cool: :cool:'

LOL! THAT would be incredibly funny.

[jolo]

I'm not sur what would be so fun about 1906. The shuttle would crash and burn. No landing strips at all.

Salt lakes are still possible.

[jolo]

And no way to reproduce the technology either.

Some technologies and ideas could be copied immediately. Other technologies would just take some time. The knowledge of the crew would be even more valuable. The shuttle crew could become important businessmen, scientists, or heads of technology agencies. They could also make quite a bit money on the stock exchange, help avoid a few wars and economic problems, and so on.

[Gremlin]

That's wonderful, maybe the shuttle would be Chinese then...

Now that would be a good thread!!!

[chunkeymonkey13q]

Hmm, I wonder what the Chinese long term plan actually is...