Section X Table of Contents

X: Replacing Columbia:

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Will another replacement orbiter be built, as Endeavour 
was built to replace Challenger?

Probably not. In fact, you can probably bet on it never happening. A space shuttle like those we have now can not be made again for the same reasons that Enterprise probably will not be brought into active service. Not only are the tooling and design manpower simply no longer in existence, the cost would be nearly the same as starting from scratch with an all new design for future shuttle type craft. And no, there are not enough spare parts left over to cobble together a new shuttle as was Endeavor.

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Can Enterprise be upgraded to replace Columbia?

Perhaps, but odds are against it happening.

First off, a little backhistory: Enterprise was to be the second spaceworthy Shuttle, after Columbia. It would have gone back to Palmdale to be completed for spaceflight after the 747 drop tests and after Columbia was completed. In the end, NASA and Rockwell decided to upgrade the structural test article (STA-099) instead, mainly because it offered greater payload performance than Enterprise. STA-099 became OV-099 Challenger, which is why Challenger's OV number was out of sequence with the rest. Enterprise was then donated to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, where it currently resides on display.

Following the loss of Challenger, NASA briefly examined the possibility of making Enterprise operational, but for the same reasons as those justifying the decision to upgrade STA-099 instead, it was decided to use existing spare parts and build Endeavour instead. However, Endeavour was ordered just before the line shut down, and as a result was quite a bit more expensive than the others because facilities had to be reactivated and some subcontractors replaced.

Despite its current existence as a museum piece, NASA still periodically inspect Enterprise at the SASM. It is fairly frequently used for various tests, and the in-depth structural inspection conducted in 1996 found little seriously wrong with the vehicle from her exposure to the elements, etc. In fact, in several respects she has suffered less corrosion than some of the operational Orbiters. However, it would still be a MAJOR undertaking to make her flightworthy, primarily because she would need a real crew module and all of the normal systems installed - particularly the Main Propulsion System, and all of its plumbing. In addition, given the wiring problems suffered by the rest of the fleet, NASA would probably want to replace all 100+ miles of internal wiring.

Finally, there's this to consider: The talented people who built the space shuttles have moved on long ago - and in some cases have passed on - and most of them have most likely forgotten the little skills that they used when building the shuttles. Many of the specialist tools and jigs that were used to build the shuttles no longer exist, either. While one can argue that with enough money anything can be built, in the case of a Columbia replacement of the same design it would be impossibly expensive now.  

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Will NASA ground one Shuttle for spare parts?

Per the 2/7/03 Accident Review Briefing, NASA officials emphatically stated that there were enough spare parts to keep the remaining Shuttles in the fleet flying without having to ground one to gut for spares. Per NASA Spokesman Michael Kostelnik, NASA has no intentions of making one of the Shuttles a "hangar queen".

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