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The Beginnings | |
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Background | |
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Sanger and Bredt | |
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Early Experiments | |
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Von Braun's Dream | |
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The First X-Planes | |
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Round Two | |
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Onward to Mach 10 (or not) | |
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Dynamic Soaring | |
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Skip-Gliding | |
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BoMi, RoBo, and Brass Bell | |
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Hywards | |
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The Final RoBo Configurations | |
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Passengers in Space | |
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The Sleek and Winged Spacecraft Called Dyna-Soar | |
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Phase Alpha | |
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Dyna-Soar Description | |
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But Why? | |
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Cancelled Now, Forever More | |
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Wingless Flight | |
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Of Blunt Shapes and Lifting-Bodies | |
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Precision Recovery | |
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Manned Lifting-Bodies | |
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Air Force Efforts | |
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Pilot | |
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HYFAC, NHFRF, and Other Dreams | |
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Mini-Shuttle | |
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Concept Exploration | |
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ASSET | |
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American Indian | |
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Aerospaceplane | |
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Convair Spaceplane | |
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Enter the Scramjet | |
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Recoverable Orbital Launch System | |
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Manned Reconnaissance Vehicle | |
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Other Early Efforts | |
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Reusable Aerospace Passenger Transport | |
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Air Force Reusable Launch Vehicles | |
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AFFDL and Stage-and-a-Half | |
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The Little Guys | |
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Grand Ambition | |
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Let the Games Begin | |
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Choosing a Configuration - Phase A | |
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The STG and SSTG | |
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Main Engine Phase A | |
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McDonnell Douglas (NAS9-9204) | |
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North American Rockwell (NAS9-9205) | |
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Lockheed (NAS9-9206) | |
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General Dynamics / Convair (NAS9-9207) | |
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Martin Marietta (No NASA Contract Issued) | |
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Political Considerations | |
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DoD Requirements | |
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Dissension Within NASA - the MSC DC-3 | |
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Phase a Conclusions | |
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Refining the Configuration - Phase B | |
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Main Engine Phase B | |
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Revision | |
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McDonnell Douglas / Martin Marietta (NAS9-10959) | |
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North American Rockwell (NAS9-10960) | |
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Reorganization | |
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Alternate Concepts | |
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Chrysler (NAS8-26341) | |
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Lockheed (NAS8-26362) | |
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Grumman / Boeing (NAS9-11160) | |
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Another Revision | |
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Lower Expectations | |
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The Rules of the Game Change | |
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Gaining Ground | |
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Phase B Prime | |
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But No DoD Money | |
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Phased Development | |
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Solid Rocket Development | |
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Choosing a Launch Site | |
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Safety in Earth Orbit | |
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A Hot Issue | |
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Phase B Double Prime | |
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Another Idea | |
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Getting Closer | |
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Finally, A Decision | |
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The Final Configuration | |
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Orbiter Phase C/D | |
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Grumman / Boeing | |
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Lockheed | |
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McDonnell Douglas | |
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North American Rockwell | |
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Orbiter Contract Award | |
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Main Engine Phase C/D and Award | |
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SRB Phase C/D and Award | |
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ET Phase C/D and Award | |
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Evolutionary Changes | |
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Getting Ready | |
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Shuttle Carrier Aircraft | |
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It's a Bird; It's a Plane | |
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Structural Dynamics | |
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Space, The Final Frontier | |
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The Test Vehicle - Enterprise | |
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Other Testing | |
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SSME Qualification | |
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SRB Qualification | |
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ET Qualification | |
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Advanced Vehicle Automation | |
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An Important Mission - Rescue Skylab | |
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Department of Defense Support | |
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Those Pesky Tiles | |
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In Production at Last | |
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Upper Stages | |
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Fifth Orbiter Debate | |
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The Final Push | |
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What's in a Name? | |
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Orbiter Names | |
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Broken in Mid-Stride | |
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Flight Profile | |
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Orbital Mechanics | |
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Aborts | |
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Final Preparations | |
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The First Twenty-Five Flights | |
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The Accident | |
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The Analysis | |
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The Findings | |
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The Recommendations | |
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SRB Requalification | |
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Rethinking Aborts and Escapes | |
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What was Launched Before 51-L | |
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Government Payloads | |
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Commercial Consequences of the Accident | |
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Subsidies? | |
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Return to Flight | |
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A Long 32 Months | |
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The Second Twenty-Five Flights | |
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Grounded, Again | |
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The Third Twenty-Five Flights | |
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The Fourth Twenty-Five Flights | |
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Grounded, Yet Again | |
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Independent Assessment | |
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Preparing to Fly | |
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Post-Challenger Missions | |
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DoD Missions | |
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Mission Data Tables | |
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Technical Description | |
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The Players | |
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Space Shuttle Coordinate System | |
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Location Codes | |
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Orbiter | |
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Forward Fuselage | |
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Crew Module | |
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Flight Deck | |
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Multifunction CRT Display System | |
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Dedicated Displays | |
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Multifunction Electronic Display System | |
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Closed-Circuit TV System and Cameras | |
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Mid-Deck | |
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Airlock | |
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Orbiter Docking System | |
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Mid-Fuselage | |
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Payload Bay Doors | |
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Payload Deployment and Retrieval System | |
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Purge, Vent, and Drain System | |
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Aft-Fuselage | |
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Body Flap | |
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Wings | |
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Vertical Stabilizer | |
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Orbital Maneuvering System | |
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Reaction Control System | |
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Electrical Power | |
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Environmental Control and Life Support | |
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Thermal Protection System | |
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Avionics | |
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Communications | |
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Data Processing System | |
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Landing Gear | |
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Brakes | |
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Drag Chute | |
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Main Propulsion System | |
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Space Shuttle Main Engines | |
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Disconnect Valves | |
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Power Heads | |
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Hot Gas Manifold and Combustion Chamber | |
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Nozzle | |
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MPS Propellant Management Subsystem | |
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Pogo Suppression Subsystem | |
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Main Engine Controllers | |
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Thrust Vector Control | |
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Engine Start and Ascent | |
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SSME Enhancements | |
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High-Pressure Turbopumps | |
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Two-Duct Powerhead and Heat Exchanger | |
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Large Throat Main Combustion Chamber | |
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Block I | |
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Block IIA | |
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Block II | |
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External Tank | |
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Liquid Oxygen Tank | |
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Intertank | |
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Liquid Hydrogen Tank | |
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ET Thermal Protection System | |
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Systems | |
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Light-Weight Tank | |
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Composite Nose Cone | |
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Super Light-Weight Tank | |
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Solid Rocket Boosters | |
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Construction | |
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Propellant | |
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Structure | |
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Electronics | |
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Ignition | |
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Electrical and Hydraulic Systems | |
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Nozzle | |
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SRB Separation and Recovery | |
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Filament-Wound Cases | |
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Range Safety System | |
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Spacelab | |
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Spacehab | |
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Orbiter Maintenance and Refurbishment | |
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Columbia OV-102 Micro-Modification | |
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Columbia (OV-102) Spacelab Only (SLO) | |
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Columbia (OV-102) Flight 6 Modifications | |
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Columbia (OV-102) Flight 11 EDO Modification | |
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Discovery (OV-103) Flight 14 Modifications (OMDP-1) | |
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Atlantis (OV-104) Flight 12 OMDP-1 | |
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Columbia (OV-102) Flight 17 OMDP-1 | |
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Discovery (OV-103) Flight 21 OMDP-2 | |
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Endeavour (OV-105) Flight 11 OMDP-1 | |
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Atlantis (OV-104) Flight 20 OMDP-2 | |
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Columbia (OV-102) Flight 26 OMDP-2 | |
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Orbiter Weight Statement | |
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To Continue Safely | |
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Shuttle Upgrade Program | |
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Safety Upgrades | |
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Supportability Upgrades | |
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Other Possible Upgrades | |
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Five Segment Booster | |
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Liquid Fly-Back Boosters | |
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Stillborn | |
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Improving the Breed | |
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Sigma Corporation EDIN05 | |
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Shuttle-Derived Vehicles (SDV) | |
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Boeing (NAS9-14710 and NAS8-23395) | |
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Martin Marietta (NAS8-34183) | |
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Shuttle-C | |
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Shuttle-Z | |
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Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) | |
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Liquid Rocket Booster | |
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General Dynamics (NAS8-37137) | |
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Martin Marietta (NAS8-37136) | |
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Sudden Ranch | |
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Rancho de la Concepcion | |
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Manned Orbiting Laboratory | |
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Enter Shuttle | |
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The Problems | |
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Acronyms and Abbreviations | |
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Citations and Notes | |
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Index | |