Key-Hole KH-9 Hexagon.
14
Hubble was built by the Lockheed Corporation within
the same Key-Hole production plant, but its application in space was different.
Once in orbit, NASA pointed it toward the stars, seeking distant galaxies and not
towards Earth to look for Soviet ICBM silos.
Other military requirements had further influence on the shuttle project. The
shuttle’s re-entry manoeuvre, the most critical phase of the flight, was specifically
designed based on the Air Force’s requirement to establish two separate launch
sites, in Florida and in California at the Vandenberg base.
15
The Air Force was
concerned that in case of a flight problem just after take-off, the shuttle would
have had to land safely at a runway
16
after just one tour of the planet. It was
unthinkable to land a space shuttle carrying a CIA satellite in foreign territory.
Thus, NASA had to design an aerodynamic shape that could withstand a particular re-entry trajectory, allowing the shuttle to glide back to California after a
single orbit from take-off. Since the Earth’s rotation would had moved the landing
base a thousand miles east of the shuttle’s flight path, the spaceship would have
had to counterbalance this shift even during an emergency re-entry.
17
In order to
safely land the shuttle with such a complicated re-entry manoeuvre, NASA and its
contractors had to equip the vehicle and its thermal protection system with special
ceramic tiles, to be mounted on the back and on the wings. The tiles were designed
to absorb a temperature over 2,900°F generated by the atmospheric friction, and
so they had to be carefully checked after each mission and replaced quite often.
As is evident by now, the entire design of the space shuttle – a true icon of the
twentieth century – was shaped following very stringent requirements from the
Air Force.
18
Shuttle Columbia took off from Cape Canaveral for its maiden flight on April
12, 1981. Symbolically, NASA choose the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s
flight to launch its brand-new spaceship. At the time, many were convinced that
traveling to space would soon be as ordinary as flying onboard a Boeing 747
Jumbo Jet.
19
14
Day, Dwayne. Sensitivity About Gambit and Hexagon Imagery Declassification, History of
the Gambit and Hexagon Programs. The Recon Report September 20, 2000.
15
“Vandenberg Air Force Base--The West Coast Space Shuttle Launch Site,” Speech by Major
General R. C. Henry, Vice Commander, SAMSO, to the Air Force Association Dinner Meeting,
Alisal Ranch, Solvang, California, March 19, 1976.
16
Damohn, Mark. 2001. Back Down to Earth. iUniverse Publishing, 31.
17
Aviation Week and Space Technology. 1975. USAF Launch/Recovery Plan Set, 32–36
18
Hepplewhite, T.A. 1999. The Space Shuttle Decision: NASA’s Search for a Reusable Space
Vehicle. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
19
Space Shuttle. 1972. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Educational Publication
ep-96.
44 Rocket Man: From The Space Shuttle to the International Space Station
14
Hubble was built by the Lockheed Corporation within
the same Key-Hole production plant, but its application in space was different.
Once in orbit, NASA pointed it toward the stars, seeking distant galaxies and not
towards Earth to look for Soviet ICBM silos.
Other military requirements had further influence on the shuttle project. The
shuttle’s re-entry manoeuvre, the most critical phase of the flight, was specifically
designed based on the Air Force’s requirement to establish two separate launch
sites, in Florida and in California at the Vandenberg base.
15
The Air Force was
concerned that in case of a flight problem just after take-off, the shuttle would
have had to land safely at a runway
16
after just one tour of the planet. It was
unthinkable to land a space shuttle carrying a CIA satellite in foreign territory.
Thus, NASA had to design an aerodynamic shape that could withstand a particular re-entry trajectory, allowing the shuttle to glide back to California after a
single orbit from take-off. Since the Earth’s rotation would had moved the landing
base a thousand miles east of the shuttle’s flight path, the spaceship would have
had to counterbalance this shift even during an emergency re-entry.
17
In order to
safely land the shuttle with such a complicated re-entry manoeuvre, NASA and its
contractors had to equip the vehicle and its thermal protection system with special
ceramic tiles, to be mounted on the back and on the wings. The tiles were designed
to absorb a temperature over 2,900°F generated by the atmospheric friction, and
so they had to be carefully checked after each mission and replaced quite often.
As is evident by now, the entire design of the space shuttle – a true icon of the
twentieth century – was shaped following very stringent requirements from the
Air Force.
18
Shuttle Columbia took off from Cape Canaveral for its maiden flight on April
12, 1981. Symbolically, NASA choose the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s
flight to launch its brand-new spaceship. At the time, many were convinced that
traveling to space would soon be as ordinary as flying onboard a Boeing 747
Jumbo Jet.
19
14
Day, Dwayne. Sensitivity About Gambit and Hexagon Imagery Declassification, History of
the Gambit and Hexagon Programs. The Recon Report September 20, 2000.
15
“Vandenberg Air Force Base--The West Coast Space Shuttle Launch Site,” Speech by Major
General R. C. Henry, Vice Commander, SAMSO, to the Air Force Association Dinner Meeting,
Alisal Ranch, Solvang, California, March 19, 1976.
16
Damohn, Mark. 2001. Back Down to Earth. iUniverse Publishing, 31.
17
Aviation Week and Space Technology. 1975. USAF Launch/Recovery Plan Set, 32–36
18
Hepplewhite, T.A. 1999. The Space Shuttle Decision: NASA’s Search for a Reusable Space
Vehicle. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
19
Space Shuttle. 1972. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Educational Publication
ep-96.
44 Rocket Man: From The Space Shuttle to the International Space Station