|
Bio-line
Online Chat
Kit
Steps to Cmdr
Cmdr Duties
|
|
The Commander is the captain of the ship, and makes all real-time
critical decisions on behalf of the crew and in coordination with
the Mission Control Center (MCC). The commander's seat is located
on the left side of the shuttle.
The Pilot, who sits on the right side of the shuttle, is the Commander's
understudy, and is fully trained to do all the same tasks as needed.
Commanders fly at least once as Pilots before they move into the
left seat.
The commander also participates in experiments and on-orbit operations,
but with some limitations. They are not allowed to do spacewalks,
as the crew can't afford to have them stuck outside during an emergency
deorbit. They also don't normally operate the Canadarm, as it is
a specialized task separate from flying the vehicle.
As the shuttle reenters from orbit, the on-board computers fly
the orbiter. However, if the reaction control system (RCS) does
not maintain the correct angle of attack during reentry, overheating
of the tile adhesive can break the bonds of the tiles, which protect
the shuttle from burning up. The commander, who is trained and ready
to take over from the computers, must stay extremely alert during
this phase of flight, so that if there is a failure with the on-board
computers, the commander can take over manually to adjust to the
appropriate angle of attack.
When the orbiter goes subsonic (slower than the speed of sound
or Mach 1), approximately 3 minutes prior to touchdown, the Commander
takes manual flight control of the shuttle and flies a large spiral
approach centered about 13 km from the runway threshold. At the
completion of the spiral approach, the orbiter lines up with the
runway centerline at an altitude of about 3 km and 11km downrange
from the runway threshold. Once lined up with the runway, the orbiter
flies a steep 18 to 22 degree flight path until an altitude of about
600m when it begins shallowing out to a 1.5 degree flight path.
At an altitude of 100m, the pilot lowers the landing gear and
the commander lands the orbiter about 1500 m past the runway threshold.
Shortly after landing, the pilot deploys the drag chute and the
commander lowers the nose and applies wheel brakes. After about
one hour of post-landing activities, which include shutting down
systems, the crew exits the orbiter marking the completion of another
successful Space Shuttle mission.
|
