What Is the Procedure If the Space Shuttle Landing Gear Fails?
The space shuttle is the world's first reusable spaceship. Part of what enables the craft to be flown again and again is its ability to launch like a rocket, yet land like an airplane.
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System Features
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The orbiter has the capability of landing on a runway using a conventional type of landing gear system. This system consists of a nose landing gear and a left and right main landing gear. Each landing gear includes a shock strut with two wheel and tire assemblies and hydraulically powered disc brakes.
Considerations
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Just what contingency plan is enacted depends on the nature of the emergency or system malfunction. In the case of the landing gear deployment, the space shuttle features many backup systems, ranging from bungee cords to explosive pyrotechnical charges to either power or mechanically deploy the gear and lock them in place. These measures are initiated automatically without input from crew members.
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Landing
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Regardless of how or when the failure occurs, the shuttle will attempt to touch down at Edwards Air Force base in California or Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After all attempts to deploy the landing gear have failed, the last resort will be to "skid-land" the orbiter, hopefully using whatever gear wheels have successfully locked into place. This is preferably avoided, however, because damage this would cause to the shuttle's structure would render it unable to fly again.
Post-landing
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In the very rare event of a complete and dire failure of the landing gear system (or other abnormal or extreme landing condition), the first step after the orbiter has reached a complete stop, is to ascertain the condition and safety of the crew. Next, the crew will perform an emergency shutdown of all orbiter systems. Finally, the crew will egress the orbiter.
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References
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- Photo Credit space shuttle line image by patrimonio designs from Fotolia.com
