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Wasn't Challenger shattered to pieces simply from deviating from nose-forward attitude?
If so, how the hell was a shuttle supposed to fly side-backwards at all?

It would have done so after SRB separation at high altitude, where dynamic forces wouldn't have been so dramatic. It was still an exercise in extreme astronautics and anyone involved would have been labeled as a physics offender for life.

I think there were probably Usenet groups devoted to RTLS...
 
Wasn't Challenger shattered to pieces simply from deviating from nose-forward attitude?
If so, how the hell was a shuttle supposed to fly side-backwards at all?
The stack isn't flying sideways at any point during the powered RTLS phase. It is in fact thrusting in a retrograde attitude until first the horizontal energy that is carrying it away from the launch site has been nulled and then built up again so the trajectory is towards the launch site.

There are three phases to an successful RTLS abort:


  1. Powered Pitch Around (PPA). The PPA essentially first puts the stack nearly vertical to reduce the propellant in the ET so there's just enough to initiate the second phase and then puts the stack thrusting retrograde to null out the horizontal velocity that is carrying the stack away from the launch and initiate the flyback phase
  2. The flyback phase begins when the stack is beginning to accelerate towards the launch site and signifies the completion of the PPA phase. The flyback phase is completed at MECO at which the ET should have no more than 2% propellant remaining in it and the orbiter should have enough energy to start the third and final phase.
  3. The third and final phase is called the Glide RTLS (GRTLS) is pretty the same as nominal entry and landing where the orbiter intercepts the HAC as usual and glides to a nominal landing.
 
Doesn't that happen, like, every other day? :P

Every quarter now, beginning with the previous patch in October.

The upcoming patch includes a complete overhaul of the Java security model, and will likely invalidate all previous versions. This invalidation is automatic and is baked into the Java code, forcing the user to upgrade.

It also occurred with the last patch in October, breaking a vital piece of software in our company without giving us time to perform any testing, which is mandatory for us due to our industry and products. We were left with no choice but to instruct users to upgrade the version of Java on their production machines.

The good news is that the software vendor is in the process of completely rewriting the application in HTML 5 in an effort to be completely independent of Java. This has been their plan for the past year, and crippling effects of the patch in October have accelerated that plan. The bad news is that since it is a complete rewrite of the application, they are projecting complete independence from Java won't happen until at least 2015. :(
 
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I was thinking of such a mission patch with the names of the 12 Doctors. Glad to see that someone made an actual design.
 
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Thank you, Google, for merging my YouTube account with my Google+/Gmail account and simplifying my life, and further controlling how I post/who I post as on the Internet. Would it have been too much to ask for you to merge my subscriptions from my YT account into my Google account? No, it's ok, really, I have a perfect memory, and tons of time to go search YT for all the accounts I can barely remember and re-subscribe.
 
where the Shuttle would simply fly suborbital over the Atlantic and land at a designated runway in Europe or North Africa.

Two interesting facts: One possible abort runway in Morocco wasn't considered after 2002 due to the "possibility of terrorist attacks".
Shuttle launches had to consider the weather at the abort runways. I think during one of the last flights they discussed how it was currently raining in Zaragossa and the Shuttle couldn't launch then.
 
Two interesting facts: One possible abort runway in Morocco wasn't considered after 2002 due to the "possibility of terrorist attacks".
Shuttle launches had to consider the weather at the abort runways. I think during one of the last flights they discussed how it was currently raining in Zaragossa and the Shuttle couldn't launch then.

Another fun fact: For the TALs, the communication switched from the CAPCOM to the TALCOM, who was one of three astronaut sitting either at the abort site or in a weather plane monitoring the landing sites.
 
Expansion of what I'd mentioned in the chatbox...

Got new glasses today. Bifocals, can't see stairs so if I'm off line for a while I must have fell off the porch and am getting a cast. Got to move my whole head now to see anything in the side mirrors while driving.

To put it another way... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDGlN6mluGA

The upside is that they are several ounces lighter than my old glasses; I'm just going to have to get used to it.

Getting old sucks, but beats the alternative.
 
Artificially grown eyeball implants, now!

Disclaimer: Different colors cost extra depending on the taste of the manufacturers.
 
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