U.S. astronaut who served as pilot on the first U.S. space shuttle orbital flight.
Systems of this sort also find application on longer duration flights such as those involving the space shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System and the Apollo Lunar Module.
The frequency of U.S. spaceflights in the 1960s and '70s led to the development of a reusable, low-orbital-altitude space shuttle.
The latter chose North American Rockwell (later Rockwell International) as prime contractor for the shuttle orbiter, while the craft's orbital maneuvering engine system and heat-resistant ceramic tiles were furnished by McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed, respectively.
Satellites Back to Earth When it comes to orbital activity, the space shuttle gets most of the attention, particularly these days with the building of the International Space Station.
Moberly, who had been an intelligence officer in the Air Force before joining the F.B.I., recognized the abbreviations: "O.V.," for Orbital Vehicle; "S.T.S.," for shuttle transportation system.
A final small firing of the space shuttle's Orbital Maneuvering System engines, which use hypergolic propellant (fuel that ignites when it comes into contact with its oxidizer), places the orbiter into the desired orbit.
Skylab and the Soviet Salyut and Mir space stations opened the way for orbital occupancy, but the shuttle's cargo capacity, flight frequency, and large crew complement made a continual, expanding human presence possible.
Unlike other launch vehicles that detach themselves from their spacecraft payload when orbital speed is achieved, the shuttle orbiter, which weighs approximately 104,000 kg (229,000 pounds) when empty, is carried into orbit along with whatever payload it is carrying, two to seven crew members and their supplies, and fuel for orbital maneuvering and reentry.
On Saturday, a gaseous nitrogen valve in the shuttle's left orbital maneuvering system engine failed a routine leak test.
