QUESTION:
What kind of emergency procedures does the Shuttle Team have in case the shuttle cannot return to Earth? Can the Shuttle use the Space Station until help arrives?

ANSWER from Jerry P. Jason on April 7, 1997:
The Space Shuttle has many redundant systems. To give you an example, there are three APU's (Auxiliary Power Units) which supply hydraulic pressure to control the SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engines) and to move the aero surfaces used in entry. The shuttle can safely return on any two APU's.

Another example was the situation on STS-83. One of the fuel cells had been shutdown due to a malfunction. However, the shuttle was able to return to Earth on the other two.

The MCC (Mission Control Center) is staffed with flight controllers continuously during a mission. The flight controllers monitor large amounts of data from the shuttle. From the data we are able to discover a problem and return to Earth before it becomes dangerous.

The shuttle is unable to meet with International Space Station unless it is launched into the correct inclination. It would require a large amount of fuel to change the shuttle's orbit once launched into an orbit which was not scheduled for a rendezvous with the Station.