Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#1

Post by flyinglizard » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 11:40 AM UTC

Quite an apparatus. An interesting mix of controls, from rotary buttons, linear gauges and toggle switches from the 70's, all the way to a modern glass cockpit.

The seats look like ancient torture devices.

Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour
launchphotography.com

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#2

Post by idank » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 2:00 PM UTC

Truly amazing. What's even more amazing is how ancient the technology inside one of mankind's most incredible inventions looks compared to what we know today.

It reminds me of a visit to one of Israel's Air Force bases where I got to see the F-16's up close. I couldn't believe it when we were told that pilots upon receiving coordinates, had to open up a notebook beside them and actually look it up to know where to go because their navigation system was so old. The F-16I had a lot of improvements in this area that no longer required manual lookup by the pilot.

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#3

Post by spencerfry » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 2:13 PM UTC

Getting an Error 999.

Here's a cached version:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:B4tHkMj...

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#4

Post by phreeza » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 2:36 PM UTC

Those seats look exceptionally uncomfortable, I wonder if there is a reason for that?

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#5

Post by quux » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 3:10 PM UTC

phreeza wrote: post #4

Those seats look exceptionally uncomfortable, I wonder if there is a reason for that?

My guess would be that during launch and reentry the astronauts are wearing pressure suits that include a backpack, are custom fitted and probably provide padding. In orbit theres no need for padding on the seats.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Crew_Escape_Suit

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#6

Post by objclxt » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 3:17 PM UTC

quux wrote: post #5

phreeza wrote: post #4

Those seats look exceptionally uncomfortable, I wonder if there is a reason for that?

My guess would be that during launch and reentry the astronauts are wearing pressure suits that include a backpack, are custom fitted and probably provide padding. In orbit theres no need for padding on the seats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Crew_Escape_Suit

Yes, they wore ACES suits[1], which are partially pressurised.

Of course, at launch they wouldn't be sitting on the seats at all, they'd be lying on them.

[1]:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Crew_Escape_Suit

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#7

Post by objclxt » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 3:20 PM UTC

idank wrote: post #2

Truly amazing. What's even more amazing is how ancient the technology inside one of mankind's most incredible inventions looks compared to what we know today. It reminds me of a visit to one of Israel's Air Force bases where I got to see the F-16's up close. I couldn't believe it when we were told that pilots upon receiving coordinates, had to open up a notebook beside them and actually look it up to know where to go…

Re: how old the tech is - about ten years ago NASA was buying old computing equipment in bulk to scavenge the 8086 chips, which were used for shuttle support gear:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/12/us/for-parts-nasa-boldly-g...

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#8

Post by spydum » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 3:57 PM UTC

Same photo came up semi-recently: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120418.html

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#9

Post by ddbeck » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 4:34 PM UTC

idank wrote: post #2

Truly amazing. What's even more amazing is how ancient the technology inside one of mankind's most incredible inventions looks compared to what we know today. It reminds me of a visit to one of Israel's Air Force bases where I got to see the F-16's up close. I couldn't believe it when we were told that pilots upon receiving coordinates, had to open up a notebook beside them and actually look it up to know where to go…

I'd like to note that the shuttle fleet received a "glass cockpit" upgrade (around 1997-1998), replacing many mechanical indicators with multi-function displays. Here's a link to a (small) side-by-side comparison:

http://human-factors.arc.nasa.gov/ihi/research_groups/isis/M...

Prior to the upgrade, the space shuttle looked dated compared to commercial airliners flying at the time. It's debatable whether the shuttles looked more ancient then or now.

Re: Flight Deck of the Space Shuttle Endeavour

#10

Post by pokoleo » Sun, Oct 07, 2012, 4:42 PM UTC

phreeza wrote: post #4

Those seats look exceptionally uncomfortable, I wonder if there is a reason for that?

I was talking to a stunt pilot recently, and asked him about that (the stunt plane on display had pretty much the same amount of padding). Apparently the padding (at least for them) compresses when you're under a high number of G's, and it causes you to move the joystick.