Landing Convoy Ready on the Runway

Long before sonic booms rock Florida's Space Coast and a space shuttle glides to a stop, about 25 unique vehicles and their operators -- collectively called the landing convoy -- snake their way toward the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each one has a specific duty to make the shuttle safe to enter, assist the flight crew out and prepare the spacecraft for towing to a nearby processing hangar.

 

"When they say, 'We're definitely landing here, let's go,' it's neat to see everybody get in their vehicles and go out and support it," said Richard Merritt, a landing support manager with United Space Alliance. "It's a rather big group of people."
The nucleus of the operation is based in the Convoy Command Vehicle -- a 40-foot-long modified motor home with state-of-the-art video cameras and recorders, television monitors and a giant communications satellite antenna. It's also outfitted with a weather system to monitor the temperature, and wind speed and direction on the runway.

"It's basically like a mini firing room in there," Merritt said.

Inside the heart of the whole operation is the convoy commander, who stays in constant communication with the shuttle and all of the vehicles during post-landing activities. Immediately after wheelstop, he or she sends NASA Fire Rescue trucks out toward the shuttle. They remain a safe distance, though -- about 1,250 feet -- until safety sniff checks determine there are no hazardous gases radiating off the shuttle. Meanwhile, emergency helicopters are hovering nearby, just in case they are needed.

It's a dangerous job: heat sparks or flames could result in fire, fuel could cause permanent damage to skin, eyes or respiratory systems, and the main landing gear tires are so hot and full of pressure, they could rupture. To keep about 150 workers safe, they put on air-tight protective gear called self-contained atmospheric protective ensembles, or SCAPE suits. They also go through extensive training to pull off the extremely choreographed operation.

Once the shuttle is deemed safe, two convoys deploy on the runway -- a forward and an aft. The forward heads toward the nose of the shuttle with vehicles and personnel that remove time-sensitive payloads and experiments. Astronaut support personnel, called ASPs, also usher the flight crew members out of the shuttle, through the White Room truck and into their Crew Transport Vehicle where they undergo standard medical checks.