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I found this concept drawing at work.  It is a naive idea of what space shuttle processing was going to be like, drawn way back when, and it makes it seem as if the shuttle is just a regular aircraft that can be easily worked on with a few stands moved around it for access.  It is really amusing, because those of us that work on the shuttle fleet know that there is absolutlely nothing simple or easy about shuttle maintenance.  The next picture, which is an actual photo, shows operational reality for space shuttle processing.   You can hardly see the vehicle at all underneath all of the access platforms, cranes, and ground support equipment.  You can see a tiny bit of the nose of the craft sticking out a little from the maze of support structures.

It will be interesting to see in the next program how the concepts will differ from reality. The next program, CEV or Crew Exploration Vehicle, is in the planning stages already and in a few months the final contracts will be awarded for it.  Hopefully we have learned something in the last few decades and will go with a simpler design.  The complexity of the space shuttle’s design has been a major disadvantage and I am sure we would all love to see the United States excel in space the way we did during the Apollo era.  Let’s go to the moon and beyond!

Chris Leckness (3547 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.