Space Shuttle Pathfinder
{{short description|Space Shuttle test simulator}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Space Shuttle Pathfinder}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox Space Shuttle
| name = Pathfinder
| image = Space Shuttle Orbiter model Pathfinder.jpg
| caption = Pathfinder on the mate-demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility
| type = Space Shuttle test simulator
| number = OV-098
| country = United States
| missions = 6 tests
| status = Retired; on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama
|Enterprise=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise}}
The Space Shuttle Pathfinder (unofficial Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-098) is a Space Shuttle test simulator made of steel and wood. Constructed by NASA in 1977 as an unnamed facilities test article, it was purchased in the early 1980s by the America-Japan Society, Inc. which had it refurbished, named it, and placed it on display in the Great Space Shuttle Exhibition in Tokyo. The mockup was later returned to the United States and placed on permanent display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in May 1988.
Activities
Originally unnamed, the simulator was built at the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1977 for use in activities such as checking roadway clearances, crane capabilities and fits within structures. It was later shipped by barge to the Kennedy Space Center and was used for ground crew testing in the Vehicle Assembly Building, Orbiter Processing Facility, and Shuttle Landing Facility. Pathfinder is approximately the same size, shape and weight of an actual orbiter. Using Pathfinder allowed for facilities testing without requiring use of the more delicate and expensive Enterprise.
File:Shuttle Cockpit Simulator.jpg
In 1981, the Marshall Space Flight Center built a cockpit emulator to train crew members conducting science projects to operate the Shuttle during emergencies while in orbit. The emulator was designed to simulate the environment inside the cockpit, including positioning various control panels and viewing through the cockpit’s windows. To achieve this, the exterior of the Shuttle’s cockpit had to be incorporated into the emulator’s design. A Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation was published in the Broad Agency Announcements in the Federal Register. Ultimately, a contract was awarded to RTS Laboratories, Inc., in Gainesville, Florida, to construct a composite shell of the Shuttle’s fuselage in the cockpit region. Later that year, the composite shell was delivered to the Marshall Space Flight Center, where it was installed and outfitted with instrumentation.
Refurbishment
File:Space Shuttle Pathfinder OV-098 original configuration.jpg at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.]]
After sitting in storage for many years, the America-Japan Society, Inc. obtained the wood and steel mockup at a cost of US$1 million and hired Teledyne Brown Engineering to refurbish it to more closely resemble an actual Space Shuttle.George C. Marshall Space Flight Center 1983. Pathfinder Ceremony. [press release] April 19, 1983. It was named Pathfinder and displayed at the Great Space Shuttle Exposition in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984.
In 1982, Teledyne Brown Engineering contracted RTS Laboratories, Inc., to design and construct the nose cone and cockpit section of the Shuttle’s hull. RTS Laboratories first created a template for the front section of the hull to ensure the Shuttle’s fuselage aligned with the nose cone and cockpit section, which covered approximately the first 30 feet of the Shuttle. A foam-fiberglass composite design was chosen to ensure the Pathfinder's long-term ruggedness with minimal weight. The design team accounted for transportation restrictions, ensuring the front section could be delivered to the Marshall Space Flight Center via the interstate highway system, which imposed limits on the width and height of the product. They fabricated the nose cone and cockpit section in five separate pieces and delivered them to MSFC, where engineers installed the components onto the Pathfinder’s framework.
RTS Laboratories faced the challenge of producing the front section of the Shuttle’s hull in pieces small enough for transport to MSFC, all within the limited timeframe and budget provided. To meet this challenge, the team fabricated the hull without relying on a mold. A montage of photos captures how RTS Laboratories successfully accomplished this task.National Aeronautical and Space Administration, NASA Activities, Vol. 15, No. 5, pg. 19, May 1983
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
File:Space Shuttle Pathfinder Highsmith.jpg in Alabama sits atop MPTA-ET. The SRB forward assemblies have changed over the years.]]
After the exhibit, Pathfinder returned to the United States. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama designed the display and built a stand. NASA provided MPTA-ET and two filament-wound Solid Rocket Booster casings, which had been designed for polar-orbit launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
On February 16, 1988, NASA shipped MPTA-ET, an external tank which had been used for propulsion tests with MPTA-098, on an open barge from Stennis Space Center in Mississippi up the river to Michoud, where it was transferred to the Orion barge to sail up the river to Marshall Space Flight Center. The tank, not having been designed to hold the weight of an orbiter at an angle, required reinforcements. NASA installed I-beam spokes in the tank at Marshall, in building 4705. Pathfinder{{'}}s weight is concentrated in the tail, though, and the tank required further reinforcements. The tank was then transported over land to the display at the museum.{{Cite book |title=Remove Before Flight: Memoir of a Shuttle Team Member |last1=Phillips |first1=Scott |last2=Phillips |first2=Dianne |date=2014 |publisher=Tate Publishing and Enterprises |isbn=978-1-63367-500-1 |pages=147–153}}
In May 1988, the 89-ton Pathfinder was installed atop the display at the Space & Rocket Center.
In 1999, NASA removed the forward assemblies from each SRB attached to the Pathfinder stack. Although the SRBs are recovered and reused after each flight, several of the forward assemblies had been damaged or lost over the history of the Space Shuttle program necessitating requisition of those attached to the Pathfinder stack as spares.
In 2008, repairs were made to the forward part of the mockup after decades of exposure to the weather had corroded the floor section near the vehicle's nose. This corrosion caused the "belly pan" to drop from a mounting bracket onto the external tank. The damaged area was part of the fiberglass and plywood added to the mockup before its exhibition in Japan.
File:Pathfinder Frame Starboard Forward.jpg
In 2020 the Center received a "Save America's Treasures" grant for $500,000 from the National Park Service.{{cite news |last1=Pearlman |first1=Robert Z. |title=Rocket Center gets $500K grant to 'save' mock NASA space shuttle |url=https://www.space.com/space-shuttle-pathfinder-save-americas-treasures-grant.html |access-date=September 19, 2022 |work=Space.com |date=August 24, 2020 |language=en}} The project began with the wings and tail section temporarily removed between January and February 2021. On February 8, the Pathfinder was lowered from its mounting points atop the fuel tank for the first time since May 5, 1988. The restoration project is proceeding alongside cooperation with the Marshall Space Flight Center, who will assist in assessing the structural integrity of the test shuttle.{{cite news |last1=Pearlman |first1=Robert Z. |title=Mock space shuttle Pathfinder lowered to ground for first time in 30 years |url=https://www.space.com/space-shuttle-pathfinder-lowered-for-restoration |access-date=September 19, 2022 |work=Space.com |date=February 8, 2021 |language=en}}
On Aug. 28, 2024, two cranes lifted the body of Pathfinder back into position on the shuttle stack in the first phase of a multi-day reassembly process. The reattachment of the wings and engine bells were scheduled to follow, completing the restoration of the display. {{cite web | url=https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/local/pathfinder-shuttle-hoisted-back-into-place-at-space-rocket-center/525-70c14ff9-9125-4291-805c-7b256d0fda0e | title='Pathfinder' hoisted back into place at U.S. Space & Rocket Center | date=August 28, 2024 }}
See also
- Space Shuttle America, a tourist attraction
- Space Shuttle Independence, a full-scale made from blueprints public awareness display mockup
- Space Shuttle Inspiration, a pre-finalization engineering mockup
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |work=Tuscaloosa News |title=Pathfinder on Display |page=5 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ozkdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9qUEAAAAIBAJ&dq=pathfinder%20space%20center&pg=4548%2C4573597 |date=May 13, 1988 |access-date=July 6, 2011}}
{{cite news |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1999_3117814 |title=NASA recalls museum's shuttle parts / Forward assemblies are needed for use in program's plans |date=February 15, 1999 |work=Houston Chronicle |publisher=Reuters News Service |pages=A11 |access-date=February 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605001313/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1999_3117814 |archive-date=June 5, 2011 }}
{{cite news |first=Kenneth |last=Kesner |work=The Huntsville Times |title=Shuttle mockup undergoes repairs |url=http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1213262148157410.xml&coll=1 |date=June 12, 2008 |access-date=July 6, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204110818/http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews%2F1213262148157410.xml&coll=1 |archive-date=December 4, 2011 }}
}}
External links
{{commons category|Space Shuttle Pathfinder}}
- [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters.html Orbiter Vehicles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209023806/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters.html |date=February 9, 2021 }}
- [http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/pathfinder.html Shuttle Test Article Pathfinder] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501042211/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/pathfinder.html |date=May 1, 2016 }}
{{Space Shuttle}}
{{Space Shuttles}}
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