Orbiter escape pole

A Shuttle type of aircraft (10) with an escape hatch (12) has an arcuately shaped pole housing (16) attachable to an interior wall and ceiling with its open end adjacent to the escape hatch. The pole housing 16 contains a telescopically arranged and arcuately shaped primary pole member (22) and extension pole member (23) which are guided by roller assemblies (30,35). The extension pole member (23) is slidable and extendable relative to the primary pole member (22). For actuation, a spring actuated system includes a spring (52) in the pole housing. A locking member (90) engages both pole members (22,23) through notch portions (85,86) in the pole members. The locking member selectively releases the extension pole member (23) and the primary pole member (22). An internal one-way clutch or anti-return mechanism prevents retraction of the extension pole member from an extended position. Shock absorbers (54)(150,152) are for absoring the energy of the springs. A manual backup deployment system is provided which includes a canted ring (104) biased by a spring member (108). A lever member (100) with a slot and pin connection (102) permits the mechanical manipulation of the canted ring to move the primary pole member. The ring (104) also prevents retraction of the main pole. The crew escape mechanism includes a magazine (60) and a number of lanyards (62), each lanyard being mounted by a roller loop (68) over the primary pole member (22). The strap on the roller loop has stitching for controlled release, a protection sheath (74) to prevent tangling and a hook member (69) for attachment to a crew harness

Heavy-lift vehicle-launched Space Station method and apparatus

Methods and apparatus are provided for a single heavylift launch to place a complete, operational space station on-orbit. A payload including the space station takes the place of a Shuttle Orbiter using the launch vehicle of the Shuttle Orbiter. The payload includes a forward shroud, a core module, a propulsion module, and a transition module between the core module and the propulsion module. The essential subsystems are pre-integrated and verified on Earth. The core module provides means for attaching international modules with minimum impact to the overall design. The space station includes six control moment gyros for selectably operating in either LVLH (local-vertical local-horizontal) or SI (solar inertial) flight modes