OK, maybe the Shuttle doesn't quite fit into "Off Topic Babbling", but hey

Just found a wonderful set of pictures of the shuttle Discovery being prepped for launch. Those on slow connections, be warned that it's 3Mb - but boy, is it worth it !

http://www.sciencefile.org/cgi-bin/y...m=1172223643/4

Wow, having a whle orbiter hung up by 2 beams and some cables .

1 question though; we see the cargo being loaded into some kind of container, hung up at the launch pad. Is this whole container placed inside the huttle bay? If so, doen't the double wall (the shuttle appears to have its own set of bay doors) give a weight penalty then?

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Are you lisping? You seem to be missing some S's.

Anyway, if I saw it right, cargo is SpaceHab, basically a space station that stays in the shuttle. So, yes, the walls are vital. The payload doors have to be opened for various reasons, therefore exposing the cargo to space. If the cargo (in this case astronauts and thier experiments) cannot be exposed, then the self-encapsulation is needed.

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Which on reflection, and a second look, seems to be not quite right. So, I'll wait for the experts.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)