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CX2ACB > SAT 07.01.03 04:20l 78 Lines 3498 Bytes #999 (0) @ AMSAT
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Subj: SANTA AND KSC LANDING TEAM WERE SET FOR POSSIBLE CHRISTMAS E
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Sent: 021228/2131Z @:CX2ACB.MVD.URY.SA #:55929 [Montevideo] $:ANS-363.05
From: CX2ACB@CX2ACB.MVD.URY.SA
To : SAT@AMSAT
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.05 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. DECEMBER 1, 2002
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-363.05
As children in Central Florida and around the world prepared to celebrate
Christmas, Santa and NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) landing convoy team
are rumored to have conducted secret exercises to address any possible
contingencies that might arise during Santa's annual space flight.
Continuing a long-standing tradition at KSC, the Shuttle Landing Facility
(SLF), also known this time of the year as the "Sleigh" Landing Facility,
was available to Santa if an emergency landing was required during his
mission.
In the event of an emergency landing by the reindeer-propelled sleigh, the
KSC landing convoy team would have been available to assist Santa once the
sleigh was safely on the ground.
The KSC landing convoy vehicles were "on-call" beginning the afternoon of
Dec. 24. The primary functions of the convoy team would be to provide
immediate service to the sleigh after landing, assist in Santa's egress from
the toy-laden vehicle, and prepare it for towing to the Sleigh Processing
Facility (located adjacent to the Orbiter Processing Facility) for emergency
repairs, if required.
A new state-of-the-art convoy command vehicle, commissioned in June 2002,
would lead the convoy. The new vehicle is equipped to control critical
communications between the Shuttle orbiter, the crew and the Launch Control
Center, to monitor the health of the orbiter systems, and to direct convoy
operations at the SLF.
A recent modification to the new command vehicle would also have permitted
specially trained KSC personnel to privately communicate with Santa via
closed
loop state-of-the-art circuits and guided his reindeer to a safe landing if
the
sleigh's navigational systems had failed.
Denny Gagen, KSC's convoy commander reports, "I have no comment on whether
the emergency simulations with Santa did or did not occur, but I can say
with certainty that the Shuttle orbiter is not the only 'orbiter' with which
the new convoy command vehicle can communicate."
According to inside sources, the convoy personnel on call would have been
prepared
to don SCAPE suits, (Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble suits),
for protection from the expected large amounts of ice and snow that
frequently accumulate on high-flying sleighs.
Once Santa's egress procedures were complete, the Crew Transport Vehicle
(CTV), also used by disembarking Shuttle crews, would have been be moved
into
position on the sleigh's port side. A KSC physician would be on stand-by to
board the sleigh and conduct a physical examination, if required.
(Typically, milk
and cookies are all that is necessary during stops.) The CTV would have
allowed
Santa the privacy to leave his sleigh and change from his red, fur-lined
flight
suit into his work clothes. He could then perform any necessary mechanical
repairs before returning to his scheduled deliveries.
In the event the emergency is not mechanical in nature, the SLF Landing Aids
Control Building (LACB) is equipped with telephones, a clean-rag canister,
water faucets and a hose, an eyewash rack, a snack bar, and bathrooms.
When asked to comment on this emergency contingency plan, Santa refused,
citing a heavy workload this time of year. Queries forwarded to his Public
Affairs Office went unanswered.
[ANS thanks the KSC Media Services Office for the above information!!!]
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