Space

Construction of Replacement Shuttle Orbiter Commenced

Rockwell International commenced work on the fifth NASA Shuttle Orbiter at its Palmdale plant on the August 1. The vehicle is a replacement for the Challenger destroyed in last year’s accident. Scheduled for delivery in April, 1991, the Orbiter has been designated OV-105 and is being built under a US$1,300m contract.

NASA have reduced lead time on the construction of the vehicle by drawing on a set of spare structural assemblies ordered under a 1983 contract. These assemblies include a crew module, forward fuselage, aft fuselage, wings, wing gloves, payload bay doors, mid fuselage, forward RCS subsystem and vertical stabiliser, some of which are now complete and some of which are scheduled for delivery before 1990. Industry sources in the US suggest that an additional replacement set of spares will be ordered.

This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.

Login

Become a Member

To continue reading the rest of this article, please login.

Username or Email

Password Forgot password?

Keep me signed in on this device.

If you check this box before you log in, you won’t have to log back into the website next time you return, even if you close your browser and come back later.

If you check the box above before you log in, you won’t have to log back into the website next time you return, even if you close your browser and come back later.

---

or

---

Login with a Passkey

To unlock all Australian Aviation magazine content and again unlimited access to our daily news and features, become a member today!
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.

PRINT

$49.95 for 1 year Become a Member

See benefits

• Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
• Access to In Focus reports every month on our website

MOST POPULAR

PRINT + DIGITAL

$99.95 for 1 year Become a Member

$179.95 for 2 years Become a Member

See benefits

• Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
• Access to the Australian Aviation app
• Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
• Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
• Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
• Daily news updates via our email bulletin

DIGITAL

$5.99 Monthly Become a Member

$59.95 Annual Become a Member

See benefits

• Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
• Access to the Australian Aviation app
• Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
• Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
• Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
• Daily news updates via our email bulletin

View more offers and details