History's most complex flying machine - 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle, BBC World Service

Key Concepts

• Space Shuttle: A reusable spacecraft system designed to ferry hardware and people to low Earth orbit.
• Orbiter (Space Shuttle Orbiter): The spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle system.
• STS-1: The first mission of the Space Transportation System, featuring the Columbia orbiter.
• Reusable Spacecraft: A spacecraft designed to be used multiple times, reducing the cost of spaceflight.
• Skunk Works: The secret research and design facility where the initial Space Shuttle concepts were developed.
• Approach and Landing Tests: Tests conducted with the Enterprise orbiter to prove the spaceplane could land on a runway.
• NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project: Archive of interviews used for historical context.

1. The Dawn of the Space Shuttle Program (1969)

• Context: The US is nearing the potential end of the space race with the Apollo project.
• New Project: Hidden from public view, NASA initiates a new project to create a reusable spacecraft, a dream of Wernher von Braun who envisioned a permanent human presence in space with space stations.
• April Fools' Day Meeting: Ivy Hooks, a NASA engineer, recounts receiving a mysterious call to report to Building 36, where she and others are introduced to Max Faget's vision.
• Max Faget's Vision: Faget, Director of Engineering and Development at Johnson Space Center, presents a wooden model plane to Hooks and her team, explaining that they will build America’s first spacecraft. It’s going to launch like a rocket and land like an airplane.
• Need for a New Vehicle: The Apollo program is a one-shot program with no reusable components, and the Gemini program is too small. A new all-purpose vehicle is needed to ferry people and hardware back and forth to low-Earth orbit.
• Reusable Shuttle: The new spacecraft should be reusable, fly often, and make spaceflight cheap and routine.

2. The Skunk Works and Early Design Concepts

• Secret Development: Faget's team, including Ivy Hooks, spends six months in secrecy, exploring the feasibility of a reusable spacecraft.
• "Skunk Works": The development team operates in the 'Skunk Works' on the third floor of Building 36, working in a loud environment with no windows.
• Early Ideas: The team considers a two-plane concept - a small plane and a big plane. The big one would have powerful engines, essentially like a rocket, and would have enough power to cast the smaller spaceplane into low-earth orbit. Both would be reusable and eventually both would return back to Earth and land on a runway.
• Hooks's Role: Hooks, one of the few women on the team, leverages her pilot's license to research jet engines for potential use in takeoff and landing.

3. Political Decisions and Shifting Priorities (Early 1970s)

• Nixon's Announcement (1972): NASA Administrator, Dr. James Fletcher, flew out to California to explain the new space shuttle system to President Nixon. Almost three years later, the space shuttle design is finally revealed to the public.
• Budget Constraints: With a lower budget than the Apollo program, NASA is forced to abandon plans for a permanent space station, focusing solely on the shuttle.
• Shuttle Design Evolution: The design incorporates a large external tank and two solid rocket boosters alongside the orbiter.
• President Nixon states that it will revolutionize transport into near space by routinizing it.
• System Components: The external tank carries fuel for ascent, and the solid rocket boosters drop off after launch for potential reuse.
• Terminology Clarification: "Space Shuttle" refers to the entire system; the spaceplane is technically the "orbiter."

4. The Enterprise Prototype and Approach and Landing Tests (1976-1977)

• Rollout of Enterprise: The first prototype orbiter, originally intended to be named Constitution, is named Enterprise after a fan petition honoring the Star Trek starship.
• Fred Haise and the Tests: Fred Haise, an Apollo 13 astronaut, is selected to pilot Enterprise in free flight to test its landing capabilities.
• Mounting on 747: The orbiter is mounted on top of a Boeing 747 (Shuttle Carrier Aircraft) since it lacks its own engines for takeoff.
• Separation and Glide: The 747 releases Enterprise at high altitude, and Haise pilots the orbiter through a controlled glide and landing.
• Haise's Pressure: Haise feels more pressure on this mission than on Apollo 13 due to the potential program impact. He worries that he damaged or crashed it even. It could end the programme right there.
• Successful Landing: The approach and landing tests demonstrate the spaceplane's ability to land on a runway.
• 5 Minutes and 22 Seconds: Was the total flight time.

5. The Selection of the STS-1 Crew: Young and Crippen (1978)

• Crippen's Background: Bob Crippen, a former naval aviator and astronaut from the Manned Orbiting Laboratory program, joins NASA in 1969.
• Initial Assignment: Crippen is assigned to work on the space shuttle program.
• Abbey's Call: In March 1978, George Abbey, Director of Flight Crew Operations, invites Crippen to inspect the Enterprise.
• Surprise Selection: Abbey offers Crippen the pilot seat on the first shuttle mission (STS-1), alongside veteran astronaut John Young.
• Young's Experience: Young, a national hero and moonwalker, is selected as commander due to his experience and engineering expertise.
• Team Dynamic: Young and Crippen have complementary skill sets and personalities, making them a strong team.
• Nomenclature: It’s because none of us red-hot test pilots wanna be called co-pilots. Really the commander is the pilot and the pilot is more or less a co-pilot. Although I do think we confuse the public with the nomenclature that we use sometimes.

6. Preparing for STS-1: Columbia and the Risky First Flight (1981)

• Columbia Orbiter: The first mission will use a new orbiter named Columbia.
• No Uncrewed Test Flight: For the first and only time in its history, NASA will attempt to put humans into orbit without an uncrewed test flight.
• Pre-Launch Preparations: Crippen and Young undergo extensive training and preparation for the high-risk mission.
• Launch Day: On April 12, 1981, after several delays, space shuttle Columbia stands ready for its crew at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
• Pre-Launch Rituals: Crippen and Young follow traditional pre-launch rituals, including a pre-launch breakfast of steak and eggs.
• Astrovan Ride: The astronauts travel to the launchpad in the Astrovan, getting their first glimpse of the illuminated Columbia.
• The Most Complex Machine: As Crippen boards the elevator to Columbia's flight deck, he contemplates the complexity and risks of the mission.
• Hutchinson states that those solid rocket motors are effectively giant fireworks. Once they’re lit, there’s no going back.
• The unknown outcome the spacecraft is standing in front of him. The most complex flying machine ever created.
• Crippen states that It’s the moment of truth. It’s time to go fly.

Synthesis/Conclusion

Episode 1 of "The Space Shuttle" lays the groundwork for the Space Shuttle program, highlighting the initial vision, the design challenges, the political and economic constraints, and the selection of the first crew. It emphasizes the audacity of the program, especially the decision to launch with a crew on the first test flight, and sets the stage for the high-stakes drama of STS-1. The episode frames the Space Shuttle as a gamble, an opportunity, and a symbol of ambition.