Space shuttles utilized radar altimeters for precise altitude measurement during terminal landing phases.
the verdict
REFUTED
the evidence says no
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
1 source for · 1 against
AS REPORTEDno primary record reached; this is what the reporting says
The available reference data confirms that while the space shuttle orbiters carried radar altimeters, official documentation explicitly notes that the radar altimeter altitude was not utilized for active navigation or guidance during landing, but was instead displayed solely for crew monitoring.
# What navigation systems were used by the Space Shuttle during reentry?
Tags: navigation, avionics, radio-navigation, space-shuttle
- Score: 2
- Views: 810
- Answers: 1
- Answered: yes
- Asked by: NAYAB S (23 rep)
- Asked: 2019-04-19
- Edited: 2019-04-20
- Site: aviation
## Question
What equipment did the Space Shuttle orbiters carry to support navigation during reentry?
Were there any differences between the individual orbiters in this regard?
## Answers
### Answer by Bret Copeland (score: 4 [ACCEPTED])
With the exception of GPS upgrades, I don't believe there were any substantial differences in navigational equipment between the various Space Shuttle Orbiters for most of their operational history.
Each space shuttle had:
3 Inertial Measurement Units
3 TACAN receivers* see GPS Upgrades
4 Barometric Altimeters
3 MSBLS Receivers
2 Radar Altimeters
2 Air Data Probes
Star Tracker (on-orbit)
Rendezvous Radar (on-orbit)
There is lots of information about the Shuttle's navigational equipment in the Shuttle Crew Operations Manual.
GPS Upgrades
In the early 1990s, it appeared that TACANs were going to be phased out, so NASA began evaluating GPS as a possible replacement. Spac
# Radar altimeter in a space shuttle
Tags: space-shuttle, navigation, instrument, radar
- Score: 16
- Views: 2171
- Answers: 1
- Answered: yes
- Asked by: zephyr0110 (2949 rep)
- Asked: 2019-10-21
- Edited: 2022-06-01
- Site: space
## Question
I was going through the Space Shuttle Handbook, chapter Guidance and Navigation.
In one of the Note boxes, it is written
Radar altimeter altitude is not used for navigation or guidance. The information is displayed for the crew to monitor
I have multiple queries:
I understand there is GPS, TACAN and MLS. Do these systems provide better navigation solution than if used radar altimeter?
Is there provision to use radar altimeter in case other systems fail? Or maybe in case of certain abort?
If that is so, then is altimeter only used for monitoring purposes?
And suppose radar altimeter does indeed show some anomaly is there any flight rule for that? What crew can actually do?
If they can't do anything, isn't that just increasing the weight of the shuttle?
## Answers
### Answer by Organic Marble (score: 22 [ACCEPTED])
The radar altimeter was intended only for landing, to provide a direct, precise measurement of the altitude of the ve