by Frank P.
Before the Space Shuttle flew its first approach
and landing test off the back of a Boeing 747 Carrier, Lockheed, working with
NASA, built a full set of Shuttle orbiter avionics in a facility in Houston
called the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL). Lockheed engineers
also conducted tests of all the other orbiter systems that were simulated in the SAIL. When certified, the SAIL was used to check out the orbiter flight
software prior to both the approach and landing test and later the first orbital
mission, STS-1.
The SAIL served throughout the Shuttle program
as a facility where the avionics and software for each mission could be tested
and verified prior to the actual mission. It served also as a facility where
anomalies that occurred in flight could be simulated on the ground with actual orbiter
avionics to provide real-time problem resolutions.
