Guest Lecturer: BASS REDD

Bass Redd was employed for twenty-six years by the National Aeronautics And Space Administration as Chief of the Flight Technology Branch on the Apollo Program, Head of Conceptual Design and Chief of Flight Performance on the Space Shuttle Program, and Chief of Conceptual Design on the Space Station Program. He also served on the Academic Advisory Board of The Texas A&M Aerospace Department. After leaving NASA he became President of Eagle Aerospace while also serving on the board of directors of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board for eight years. As Chief of Flight Performance he was responsible for ascent flight performance, ascent aerodynamics, ascent heating, SRB separation, ET separation, and Orbiter separation from the 747. For the Space Shuttle Orbiter, his responsibility included entry flight dynamics, entry aerodynamics, and entry heating.

Topics Included:
Aerodynamic design history of the Space Shuttle Orbiter and Integrated Vehicle, Phase A, small personnel vehicle, program requirements, aerodynamics, payload and cruise sizes, body shape, Phase B, Phase C, Phase D, Delta wing, Lockheed and the single stage blended body, two stages fully reused, stage and a half, changing the Newtonian flow, body flaps, boundary layer, CFB program, CG, CP, uncertainties in pressure distributions, new engineers and lack of cooperation, observation, accountability and quality, comeback of engineers after shuttle accident, ethic school recommended to engineers, aerodynamics, Apollo 8, nose engines, entry interface, dynamic pressure, blended control system, angle of attack constant and the velocity vector, aerodynamic heating, dynamic pressure, energy control, touchdown speed, rolling around the velocity vector to control the energy and cross range, vertical stabilizers, reversing engines

1. The Origins of the Space Shuttle
2. Space Shuttle History
3. Orbiter Sub-System Design
4. The Decision to Build the Shuttle
5. Orbiter Structure and Thermal Protection System
6. Propulsion - Space Shuttle Main Engines
7. Aerodynamics - (From Sub - to Hypersonic and Back)
8. Landing and Mechanical Systems
9. OMS, RCS, Fuel Cells, Auxiliary Power Unit and Hydraulic Systems
10. The DoD and the Space Shuttle
11. Use of Subsystems as a Function of Flight Phase
12. Aerothermodynamics
13. Environmental Control Systems
14. Ground Operations - Launching the Shuttle
15. Space Shuttle Accidents
16. Guidance, Navigation and Control
17. Mission Control 1
18. Mission Control 2
19. Design Process as it Relates to the Shuttle
20. EVA and Robotics on the Shuttle
21. Systems Engineering for Space Shuttle Payloads
22. Test Flying the Space Shuttle
23. Exemplary Lecture: Shuttle Operations Video

16.885J offers a holistic view of the aircraft as a system, covering: basic systems engineering; cost and weight estimation; basic aircraft performance; safety and reliability; lifecycle topics; aircraft subsystems; risk analysis and management; and system realization. Small student teams retrospectively analyze an existing aircraft covering: key design drivers and decisions; aircraft attributes and subsystems; and operational experience. Oral and written versions of the case study are delivered. For the Fall 2005 term, the class focuses on a systems engineering analysis of the Space Shuttle. It offers study of both design and operations of the shuttle, with frequent lectures by outside experts. Students choose specific shuttle systems for detailed analysis and develop new subsystem designs using state of the art technology. http://ocw.mit.edu