That book lied to me

[Pilot7893]

I was reading a book about the space shuttle, and they printed something that was an absolute piece of . They said during the ascent, the astronauts actually steer the shuttle with the joystick and control the engines with the speed brake handle.

 

[ryan]

Well no ones perfect, was it like a advanced book, or a kind of kids book with pictures and all that?

 

[Pilot7893]

Well no ones perfect, was it like a advanced book, or a kind of kids book with pictures and all that?

AN advanced book, describing all the procedures of the misison

 

[ryan]

That makes things worse, if it was like a kids book, like for someone who isnt that keen on spaceflight i will let it slide, but a book like that i wouldnt.

 

[Mafuskas]

I think it is normally fully automated, but I know it is possible to at least control the thrust of the SSMEs manually - with the speed brake lever-handle-thingy (it's technical name is the Speed Brake/Thrust Controller or SBTC).

Speed Brake/Thrust Controller

There are two speed brake/thrust controllers: one on the left side of the flight deck forward on panel L2 for the commander and one on the right side of the center console on panel C3 for the pilot. The SBTCs serve two distinct functions: during ascent, the pilot's speed brake/thrust controller may be used to vary the thrust level of the three SSMEs. During entry, the commander's or pilot's speed brake/thrust controller may be used to control aerodynamic drag (hence airspeed) by opening or closing the speed brake.

(emphasis mine)

Source: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/orbiter/avionics/gnc/sb.html



So yeah, its certainly possible to manually control the shuttle on ascent, so the book isn't wrong on that, but if it is saying that the shuttle is always controlled manually, then that would clearly be incorrect.

 

[ryan]

I bet every pilot or commander will be a little tempted to just take manual control of it and fly it, i mean cmon there pilots, you cant tell them not too.

 

[Urwumpe]

Crew Steering (CSS) is not used nominally. Unless you have a VERY good reason (failed GPCs, or wrong guidance or worse), you don't use the joystick and speedbrake for ascent. Many RTLS aborts rely on CSS - mostly because a reason for a RTLS would be always severe damage.

But it is typical for launch that the cue cards installed on them show thrust level of the SSMEs instead of speedbrake deflection.

 

[Brad]

I bet every pilot or commander will be a little tempted to just take manual control of it and fly it, i mean cmon there pilots, you cant tell them not too.

Pilots and commanders are also aware of the saying: "Don't botch the pooch." In other words, don't mess with it unless it messes up.

 

[Ghostrider]

I was reading a book about the space shuttle, and they printed something that was an absolute piece of .

You have my sympathy. I once bought a copy of the Necronomicon and tried to summon the mighty Yog-Sothoth. I ended up with my house full of fluffy bunnies. Shouldn't have bought the Disney edition.

 

[pete.dakota]

Pilots and commanders are also aware of the saying: "Don't botch the pooch." In other words, don't mess with it unless it messes up.

Hm. I always thought it was "Don't screw the pooch." as in, "Don't F*** up the landing".

 

[Urwumpe]

You have my sympathy. I once bought a copy of the Necronomicon and tried to summon the mighty Yog-Sothoth. I ended up with my house full of fluffy bunnies. Shouldn't have bought the Disney edition.

Try the Liber Paginarum Fulvarum.

 

[dbeachy1]

You have my sympathy. I once bought a copy of the Necronomicon and tried to summon the mighty Yog-Sothoth. I ended up with my house full of fluffy bunnies. Shouldn't have bought the Disney edition.

ROFL!! :lol:

"Klaatu...verata...nikto!!!"

 

[Brad]

Hm. I always thought it was "Don't screw the pooch." as in, "Don't F*** up the landing".

You say tomato, I say to-mat-oo.

 

[Andy44]

The Saturn V was also controllable by the crew for contingencies. In the film In the Shadow of the Moon Gene Cernan says he was very tempted to activate it and fly the first stage himself, just for the thrill of flying the biggest-engined thing ever, but of course it's just a fantasy.

 

[Scrooge McDuck]

I was reading a book about the space shuttle, and they printed something that was an absolute piece of . They said during the ascent, the astronauts actually steer the shuttle with the joystick and control the engines with the speed brake handle.

My advice:
If the rest of the book is good though, with this mistake(s) as exception, and if you actually like the book in general, the best thing you can do contact the authors/publisher and make them aware of the mistake(s). That way you can make sure that the following editions of the book will be better (if there will be a next edition). By doing this, you will a lot of future readers a big favour!
But only do this if you're 100% sure of the correction.

regards,
mcduck

 

[Missioncmdr]

The Saturn V was also controllable by the crew for contingencies. In the film In the Shadow of the Moon Gene Cernan says he was very tempted to activate it and fly the first stage himself, just for the thrill of flying the biggest-engined thing ever, but of course it's just a fantasy.

I wonder just how "manual" it is. If such an emergency were to have happened during a Saturn V or Shuttle launch, how much information would be needed from the computer or other instruments? If that is the case, the human is doing little more than moving the joystick.