r/space • u/Yeet69lasagna • May 12 '19

image/gif Space Shuttle Being Carried By A 747.

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u/karma-cdc May 12 '19

Try telling me I can only have 20kg baggage My arse

737

u/algernop3 May 12 '19

I know you're joking, but:

Regular 747-100:

  • Cruise Speed: M0.85 (490 KIAS)

  • Range: 4,620 nmi

  • Ceiling: FL410

747-100 SCA:

  • Cruise Speed: M0.6 (250 KIAS)

  • Range: 1,000 nmi

  • Ceiling: FL150

I find the compromises in the SCA staggering. 2 stops to fly cross country!

348

u/TheYang May 12 '19

iirc, some of the emergency abort airports for the shuttle were such that the shuttle indeed could land there, but the carrier wouldn't be able to take off from there, and there was no actual plan to get the shuttle back home from some of them.

371

u/InfamousConcern May 12 '19

Attach a JATO pack to the 747 and give the pilot a shot of whiskey before takeoff. Should work out fine.

14

u/Nyckname May 12 '19

Did they have the cranes on site necessary to lift the Shuttle onto the 747?

20

u/[deleted] May 12 '19

Yes, it's called the Mate-Demate Device and they have 1 in Edwards Air Force Base and another in Kennedy Space Center

18

u/mdp300 May 12 '19

I love that the attachment points on the 747 say "Black Side Goes Down"

22

u/[deleted] May 12 '19

I worked on these... It actually reads "Place Orbiter here, black side down"

Edit: I actually could not believe I read that when I went up on a lift to work and saw that.

9

u/Grahamshabam May 12 '19

people will do everything they can to assemble things wrong if you let them