[sarex] NASA TV VIEWERS CAN HITCH A SPACE SHUTTLE RIDE

[azrowe@xxxxxxxx]

Submitted by Arthur - N1ORC


Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington       September 19, 2002
(Phone: 202/358-1726)

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256/ 544-0034)

RELEASE: 02-179

NASA TV VIEWERS CAN HITCH A SPACE SHUTTLE RIDE

     For the first time, space shuttle astronauts will carry 
television viewers along for the initial ride into orbit. NASA 
Television viewers should see a spectacular live view of the 
orbiter when Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off Oct. 2.

A color video camera mounted to the top of Atlantis' external 
tank will offer a unique perspective as launch occurs. NASA TV 
plans to provide a live feed from the camera as the shuttle 
begins its ascent until it reaches near-orbital speed, about 
56 miles above the Earth. The camera is expected to provide 
video for approximately 30 minutes.

The camera, which will provide a view of the front and belly 
of the orbiter and a portion of the solid rocket boosters 
(SRBs) and external tank, will offer the STS-112 team an 
opportunity to monitor the shuttle's performance from a new 
angle.

The camera is mounted to the external tank's liquid oxygen 
tank, one of two propellant tanks. The external tank -- the 
"gas tank" for the shuttle's three main engines -- carries 
both liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen in two separate tanks. 
Often referred to as the backbone of the shuttle because it 
provides structural support during launch, the external tank 
absorbs the 7.8 million pounds of thrust produced at liftoff 
by the shuttle's three main engines and the two reusable solid 
rocket motors. 

Located high on the external-tank liquid-oxygen-tank cable 
tray, the camera is inside an aluminum fairing covered in 
protective insulating foam. The battery pack and transmitter 
are contained in an electronics box and mounted in the 
intertank crossbeam inside the external tank. 

The camera will be turned on fifteen minutes prior to launch 
and will show the orbiter and solid rocket boosters on the 
launch pad. The video will be downlinked from the external 
tank during flight to several NASA data-receiving sites and 
then relayed to the live television broadcast.  

The camera is expected to operate for about 15 minutes 
following liftoff. At liftoff, viewers will see the shuttle 
clearing the launch tower and, at two minutes after liftoff, 
see the right SRB separate from the external tank. 

When the external tank separates from Atlantis about eight 
minutes into the flight, the camera is expected to continue 
its live feed for about six more minutes. However, NASA may be 
unable to pick up the camera's signal because the tank may 
have moved out of range.

The camera, made by CrossLink, Inc. of Boulder, Colo., is six 
inches long and resembles a short, thin flashlight. A similar 
camera has been used by The Boeing Co. for video of Delta 
rocket liftoffs and by Lockheed Martin Company on Atlas 
rockets. 

Animation and still images from the camera's viewpoint are 
available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/misc/ettvcam.html

-end-


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