Designing and planning a Space Shuttle mission, which meets customer requirements and is consistent with the capabilities of the Shuttle system, is a complex, multi-phased process.
Once a Shuttle flight is requested, program engineers evaluate customer requirements and determine the feasibility of the flight and the compatibility of the payloads with the Shuttle systems and operational capabilities. The next step involves designing and developing the necessary structural, power and data interfaces between payloads and the Orbiter vehicle, designing a launch and orbital trajectory and performance plan that places the Orbiter in the desired orbit for conducting the mission, and developing ground rules by which the mission will be conducted. Requirements for critical consumable resources like fuel, oxygen and water are also analyzed to determine proper vehicle loading for the mission.
The outcome of these efforts is a thoroughly documented Flight Data File for each mission, which consists of technical references, operational procedures and timelines by which each flight is executed. These plans cover nominal operations, contingency operations, troubleshooting of spacecraft system failures and on-orbit repair. When working with another space vehicle, such as the International Space Station, the planning process must also include rendezvous and proximity operations.
