Air Force To Take Over Two Ex-Shuttle Hangers In Florida For Its X-37B Program

schwit1 writes In an effort to find tenants for its facilities, the Kennedy Space Center is going to rent two former shuttle processing hangers to Boeing for the Air Force's X-37B program. "NASA built three Orbiter Processing Facilities, or OPFs, to service its space shuttle fleet between missions. All three are located next to the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at the Florida spaceport where Apollo Saturn 5 moon rockets and space shuttles were 'stacked' for launch. Under an agreement with NASA, Boeing will modify OPF bays 1 and 2 for the X-37B program, completing upgrades by the end of the year. The company already has an agreement with NASA to use OPF-3 and the shuttle engine shop in the VAB to assemble its CST-100 commercial crew craft being built to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The company says up to six capsules can be processed in the facility at the same time."

HangArs

[Anonymous Coward]

It's hangars, for god's sake. Even tfa says so, which suggests the editor a) didn't read it and/or b) doesn't know the difference. Let me go see if I have some hangers in my closet.

Re:

[ColdWetDog]

Today is spelling optional day. Besides, the PDP-11 that runs Slashdot doesn't have a spell checker (or Unicode).

Anyway, I'm wondering when the Air Force plans on putting people in that thing. There are drawings floating around that have seating for, IIRC, up to five astronauts. They've got to be considering it.

Re:

[ColdWetDog]

Link [gizmag.com].

Further, the Slashdot PDP-11 doesn't have an editing capability.

Amazing.

Re:

[Z00L00K]

PDP-11? That's modern stuff... You can even find emulators for it.

Re:

[ogdenk]

Besides, the PDP-11 that runs Slashdot doesn't have a spell checker (or Unicode).

Pretty sure you could get a spellchecker and VI to run well under 2.11BSD. Maybe even 7th Edition. You might be right on the Unicode aspect.

Anyway, I'm wondering when the Air Force plans on putting people in that thing. There are drawings floating around that have seating for, IIRC, up to five astronauts. They've got to be considering it.

It'll probably end up being 2 astronauts and a bunch of ammo/missiles.

Re: HangArs

[rickb928]

Once Slashdot ditches the Therac-25 system there's a chance the mobile site might not suck so hard.

Re:

[ogdenk]

Therac-25? LOL For a second there I thought that was totally made up. Turns out the Therac 25 was a radiotherapy machine responsible for cooking several patients due to horrible code. That's awesome. I learned something new today.

Re: HangArs

[rickb928]

Not so much bad code as a lesson in testing software.

Re:

[gl4ss]

I don't think a spellchecker would catch hangers, after all it's a perfectly valid word.

Re:

[VoiceOfSanity]

Those plans were for the X-37C, which would have been a version of the X-37B that would be nearly twice as large. And yes, the plans would include a pressurized compartment that would hold up to six occupants.

Mind you, the Air Force has always had plans of putting up some kind of orbiting platform ever since the 1960's. The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (using Gemini capsules and the Titan II) was actually going to be launched and occupied by a group of USAF-trained astronauts, but it was eventually kille

Re: HangArs

[K. S. Kyosuke]

There used to be a hanger for Space Shuttles. I believe it used to be called the External Tank. You could conveniently hang your shuttle onto it. ;-)

Re:

[Rxke]

https://drive.google.com/file/... [google.com]

that's a shuttle hanger....

Re:

[Eunuchswear]

No, they plan to hang the X37-B's out to dry after washing them.

Re:Why aren't we using these space shuttles?

[BarbaraHudson]

Because they're NOT space shuttles. They're spy vehicles. They can change orbit, eavesdrop and peak at places at unpredictable times, etc.

Re:

[Luckyo]

Not only that, but the main advantage of this thing is that it's apparently a space drone.

Carrying life support would remove its main advantage, ability to loiter.

Re:

[Teresita]

Life support isn't a big deal. 80% of the mass of your propellant is oxidizer anyway, carried in liquid form, so it's no big deal to boil some of that off and breath it.

Re:

[beelsebob]

Not if you design your space plane right [reactionengines.co.uk]...

Re: Why aren't we using these space shuttles?

[kellymcdonald78]

The propulsion system uses hydrazine, Rudy. We wanna breathe, not dry clean our lungs.

Re:

[Luckyo]

And there's a whole lot more to life support than oxygen. People need to eat, shit, piss. Air pressure and humidity needs to be just right. Compartment needs to be kept at right temperature. And countless other features.

Space is an extremely hostile environment for species evolved to operate at a bottom of an atmosphere, and maintaining a habitable environment is extremely resource consuming endeavour.

Re: Why aren't we using these space shuttles?

[K. S. Kyosuke]

And by "to peak", presumably you mean "to reach the apogee"? ;-)

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Define "we."

Who said "they" aren't using them?

Re:

[freak0fnature]

If any more blow up, there won't be as many trophies to have in museums.

Re:

[beelsebob]

Why did I read "KSC" as "Kerbal Space Centre"?

Re:

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

The guys with the space program get to use the acronym. Those are the rules.

congrats to the DoD and NASA

[Anonymous Coward]

The only parts of the government that seem to be able to set goals and accomplish them.

Probably good

[eclectro]

With congress in reckless cut everything sequestration mode, this will help NASA hold onto the infrastructure and programs that they already have. Even though it involves mixing NASA with the military once again.

Re:

[ColdWetDog]

The military never left. Remember the Air Force only Shuttle launches [airspacemag.com]?

Re:

[Virtucon]

They still have Canaveral Air Force Base. The Air Force were to get two shuttles of their own and built a launchpad out at Vandenburg AFB in California. Unfortunately funding was cut after they spent the money building the launchpad. So there were those times when they borrowed a shuttle or two from NASA.

WTF?

[YrWrstNtmr]

NASA is renting hangar space to the Air Force, on a co-located patch of ground, for the USAF to store and maintain its space vehicles.
Please tell me why optimal use of existing facilities is 'news'?

Do the words 'Cape Canaveral Air Force Station' mean anything to you?

Re:

[Jahoda]

You're right. Certainly no one reading Slashdot is interested in NASA-related events.

Re:

[YrWrstNtmr]

NASA related is fine. This is merely building management.

Go back 70 years. "NASA sharing runway space with Langley AFB". Whoop-de-do.

Re:

[Jahoda]

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki... [wiktionary.org]

Re:

[BringsApples]

I'm with you on this. I didn't understand why it's news worthy either. I came here to look at comments and hopefully learn something. Nada. This is strictly, as you said, building management. But hey, NASA has to get money from somewhere.

But still better than, yet another, "You're loosing more rights" article.

Re:

[Virtucon]

too much public view over there. For a time I worked with the folks down at Hanger A-F on RSRM recovery and most of those hangars are well past it.

Re:

[Livius]

Please tell me why optimal use of existing facilities is 'news'?

Government being efficient is quite newsworthy.

hanger vs hangar

[argStyopa]

http://grammarist.com/usage/ha... [grammarist.com]

How does one get the job of "editor" exactly?

Re:

[jittles]

http://grammarist.com/usage/ha... [grammarist.com]

How does one get the job of "editor" exactly?

It's only two more steps than those required to get an insightful post on Slashdot:

1. Forget Everything you know
2. Loudly opine on everything you think you know
3. Sensationalize everything
4. ????
5. Profit

Re:

[CmdrTamale]

How does one get the job of "editor"

Perhaps it is a punishment for not using all those moderator points.
--
If you believe everything you read, you are a fool. Believe me.