Trade.Information

Product Name: Shuttle Mockups

Product Description

Full-Fuselage Trainer (FFT) and Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT)
The Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT) is a full scale mockup of the orbiter---minus the wings---that allows crews to train crew escape procedures, in-cabin and payload bay photography, Spacelab ingress and tunnel operations, as well as look at stowage for their flight. The post-insertion timeline (immediately after arrival on-orbit) and deorbit preparations timeline are also simulated here, including configuration of the crew compartment and getting into and out of our orange Launch and Entry Suits (LESs). The FFT is configured specifically for a given crew's training session. It's the best place for us to learn about the things we need to do between the shuttle middeck and the Spacelab module, because mockups of the shuttle tunnel adapter and Spacelab transfer tunnel can be placed in the payload bay.
The Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT) is an accurate representation of the front end of the orbiter, including the flight deck and middeck. The CCT is used in much the same way as the FFT, with the exception that the full payload bay is not represented. CCT's with an internal airlock (like Columbia) or with an external airlock (like Endeavour, Discovery, and Atlantis) are available.
External Tank Doors 1-G Simulator
In the event of a mechanical or electrical problem that prevented the external tank (ET) doors and latches from closing after ET separation, an EVA crew has the ability to close the latches manually with special tools and techniques. This involves getting beneath the Shuttle, where the doors are located, and using a tool to manually close the latches (seen at the far left of the simulator) so that the doors can swing closed. The EVA crew would also take with them jam removal tools in the event something was blocking the motion of the latches or the doors themselves. This simulator allows the EVA crew to practice these techniques in a shirt sleeves environment, i.e. not underwater in a spacesuit, in the NBL.


EMU Caution and Warning Simulator
Our EVA suits have a self-contained life support system, a communications system and a caution & warning system, all of which must be mastered before stepping out into the vacuum of space. We cannot (and prefer not to!) train procedures for a leaking space suit in a vacuum chamber, so a simulator allows us to train these emergency procedures in a "shirt-sleeves" environment. This computer-controlled simulator includes a representation of the EMU's display and control module, where we control our suit systems and work malfunctions.