question: What is a “squatcheloid” and how is it used to compute the ascent load on a space vehicle (like the shuttle) during launch.
comment: There's a pretty good explanation here: URL_0 It is product of dynamic pressure and an angle. The full squatcheloid is a graph around 360 degrees of the vehicle. But just looking at the Q-alpha (angle of attack) limit it is measured in Pa-rads (pressure times angle) in metric. Typical values would be around 1000-4000 Pa-rads for real vehicles. If MaxQ was around 50 kPa then a 2000 Pa-rad Q-alpha limit would equate to: 2000 Pa-rad / 50000 Pa * 180 deg / 3.14159265 rad = 2.29 deg Earlier or later in the flight when the pressure was 25 kPa: 2000 Pa-rad / 25000 Pa * 180 deg / 3.14159265 rad = 4.58 deg A symmetrical rocket should have a symmetrical squatcheloid. The shuttle was highly asymmetrical, and it flew upside down with a negative angle of attack (which upside-down should mean nose-up relative to the horizon) to catch some lift (but not too much!). Rockets should all try to fly with zero sideslip and roll into the wind, but there will be a distribution of wind velocities that it actually experiences. It is a name that was invented for this graph, for the space shuttle in particular (I suspect its sort of a half-joke like "quark" or "color"): > Because the shuttle is a winged vehicle, the high dynamic pressure regime was a major analysis problem to adequately predict rigid-body vehicle response to winds and thrust-generated, vehicle-induced loads, which included all system parameter variations as well as wind statistics. This was accomplished in an efficient manner through the creation of squatcheloids (Tom Modlin’s work) which was qα and qβ plotted continuously for nominal parameters as the wind direction varied. These squatcheloids are generated for each Mach number. A set is also generated for 3σ system parameter variations and becomes the basis for the design criteria (figs. 46 and 47). This work has been extended to the use of alpha, beta, and “q” combinations instead of the rigid boundary of the squatcheloid, providing more freedom in trajectory shaping and the tailoring of the day-of-launch I-loads updates to increase launch probability. URL_1
passages: Mate-Demate Device
  
  A Mate-Demate Device (MDD) is a specialized crane designed to lift a Space Shuttle orbiter onto and off the back of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Four Mate-Demate Devices were built.
  
  Section::::Armstrong Flight Research Center MDD.
   The robots were sold commercially starting in early 1983, and were intended to be inexpensive, lacking a complicated manipulating device. Units are beige molded plastic with two drive wheels as feet and stand about 36 inches tall. Arms on Topo 1 and 2 fold out, but Topo 3 lacks arms altogether. Operation is based on one of two programming languages, either Apple BASIC, a modified version of the Logo language, or a version of Forth.
   The mechanical grab, specifically the clamshell grab, was invented by the Persian Banu Musa brothers and described in their "Book of Ingenious Devices" in the 9th century. It was an original innovation by the Banu Musa that does not appear in any earlier Greek works. The grab described by the Banu Musa was used to extract objects from underwater, and recover objects from the beds of streams.
   The whole lower surface of the lifting-body was protected from the heat of re-entry by Toughened Unipiece Fibrous Insulation (TUFI) tiles, a tougher, more impact-resistant version of the Shuttle's HRSI tiles; the upgraded TUFI tiles came into use in 1996. These tiles, matt black like those on the Shuttle, were bonded directly to a multi-piece titanium heat-resistant skin mounted on the aluminium frames.
   The ancient Roman author Athenaeus Mechanicus, writing during the reign of Augustus (30 BC–14 AD), described the military use of a gimbal-like mechanism, calling it "little ape" ("pithêkion"). When preparing to attack coastal towns from the sea-side, military engineers used to yoke merchant-ships together to take the siege machines up to the walls. But to prevent the shipborne machinery from rolling around the deck in heavy seas, Athenaeus advises that "you must fix the "pithêkion" on the platform attached to the merchant-ships in the middle, so that the machine stays upright in any angle".
   A similar concept, the "Aft Cargo Carrier", was studied by Martin Marietta in 1984. This consisted of a large cylindrical cargo container bolted onto the bottom of the ET, which offered the same volume as the Space Shuttle orbiter's cargo bay, but would be able to carry wider, bulkier loads. The same basic layout was also used as the basis for a short-duration station design. Although not a wet workshop in the conventional sense, the station piggybacks on the propellant tank and is therefore related to some degree.
  
  Section::::Space Launch System-derived concepts.
   Section::::Frog Otolith Experiment Package (FOEP).:Neutral-buoyancy electrode.
   Team 2 gave a great deal of thought to the question of downmass, cargo that would have to be returned safely to Earth (mainly equipment and completed experiments). This presented no problem for Options 1 and 3; the Shuttle could easily carry downmass, for example in a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) in its payload bay, and VentureStar would have a similar system. In Option 2D, however, all of the downmass would have to be carried in the HL-42, which would need to be larger than the HL-20 to give some cargo capacity as well as crew seats. But how much capacity (volume as well as mass) would be needed in practice?
   Beginning with the STS-6 mission, a lightweight ET (LWT), was introduced. This tank was used for the majority of the Shuttle flights, and was last used on the ill-fated Space Shuttle "Columbia" disaster (STS-107). Although tanks vary slightly in weight, each weighed approximately inert.
   BULLET::::- Sumo squat – A variation of the back squat where the feet are places slightly wider than shoulder width apart and the feet pointed outwards.
  
  BULLET::::- Box squat – at the bottom of the motion the squatter will sit down on a bench or other type of support then rise again. The box squat is commonly utilized by powerlifters to train the squat.
   Squat toilet
  
  A squat latrine (or squatting latrine) is a toilet used by squatting, rather than sitting. There are several types of squat toilets, but they all consist essentially of a toilet pan or bowl at floor level. Such a toilet pan is also called a "squatting pan". The only exception is a "pedestal" squat toilet, which is of the same height as a sitting toilet. It is in theory also possible to squat over sitting toilets, but this requires extra care to prevent accidents as they are not designed for squatting.
   Squat is also mentioned as a factor in the collision of the bulk carriers "Tecam Sea" and "Federal Fuji" in the port of Sorel, Quebec, in April 2000.
   In the earliest stages of re-entry the HL-42, like the Shuttle, would rely entirely on the RCS for attitude control. In the case of the Shuttle, as the surrounding air grew denser and dynamic pressures increased, the ailerons on the outer trailing edges of the wings would grip the airflow first and take over roll control from the RCS. Then, a little later, the elevons on the inner trailing edges would take over pitch control. (The Shuttle's single rear body flap was less important for attitude control, acting only as a pitch trim tab and to shield the main engine nozzles from the heat of re-entry.)
   The Ares I second stage, on the other hand, would have only used the spray-on insulation foam currently used on the current ET. Originally configured like that of the Ares V and the Shuttle ET, NASA, upon completing its design review in 2006, decided, in order to save weight and costs, to reconfigure the internal structure of the second stage by using a combined LH/LOX tank with the propellants separated by a common bulkhead, a configuration successfully used on the S-II and S-IVB stages of the Saturn V rocket. Unlike the Ares V, which would have used the same fill/drain/vent configuration used on the Shuttle, the Ares I system would have utilized a traditional fill/drain/vent system used on the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets, but with quick-retracting arms due to the "leap frog" speed the Ares I will expect upon SRB ignition.
   In the late 1960s and in the 1970s, Dana was a project pilot on the manned lifting body program, which flew several versions of the wingless vehicles and produced data that helped in development of the Space Shuttle. He completed one NASA M2-F1, nine Northrop HL-10, nineteen Northrop M2-F3 and two Martin Marietta X-24B flights, for a total of 31 lifting body missions.
  
  Section::::Test pilot and astronaut career.:NASA career.
   Section::::Operation.:The Jump Method.
  
  In the jump method, the top cylinder is mounted to a pair of cantilever springs, while the bottom cylinder is brought up towards the top cylinder. While the bottom cylinder approaches the top, there comes a point when they will "jump" into contact with each other. The measurements, in this case, are based on the distance from which they jump and the spring constant. These measurements are usually between surfaces 1.25 nm and 20 nm apart.
  
  Section::::Operation.:The Resonance Method.
   BULLET::::- Cargo Transport Container (CTC) each can weigh between 1,000 and 1,300 lb A container used to transport smaller ORUs such as Remote Power Control Modules in bulk, which may also be used during EVA or by the SPDM. NASA purchased 5 CTCs for such deliveries.
  
  Three units – CTC-3 formerly on ELC-2 FRAM-2 (top side), was later moved to ESP-2 FRAM-3 via SPDM. CTC-2 on ELC-4 FRAM-2 (keel side), CTC-5 on ELC-3 FRAM-1 (top side)
  
  BULLET::::- Pitch/Roll-Joint (P/R‐J) x 2 units on the SSRMS. A Wrist joint with several degrees of freedom, designed to be replaced on orbit if required.
   The iRED provides resistive exercise to the user which helps prevent muscle atrophy and minimize bone loss. It focuses on maintaining the strength, power, and endurance of the crew member. It has over 18 different exercises for both upper and lower body and provides up to a 300 lb. resistive force. Examples of possible exercises include but are not limited to: squats, straight-leg deadlifts, bent-leg deadlifts, heel raises, bend-over rows, upright rows, bicep curls, shoulder presses etc.
   BULLET::::- On the Space Shuttle, trunnion pins are affixed to the sides of payload items allowing them to be secured to receivers mounted on the sills of the payload bay. These receivers can be remotely commanded to secure and release selected items. Similar keel pins protrude from the nadir side of payload items, into matching holes in the bottom of the payload bay.
  
  BULLET::::- On hydraulic cylinders, a trunnion (either featuring external pins or internal pockets) can be an alternative body mounting type, as opposed to a flange or pin eye.
   Team 2 were very much aware that their minimal downmass provision might attract criticism: "The acceptability of this level of return (approximately 15 percent of delivered mass) represents an issue that should be addressed in the final Space Station Freedom logistics scenario." However, later ISS experience suggested that this would not have been a problem.
  
  The HL-42 had about the same cargo capacity as the later uncrewed SpaceX Dragon, and for at least five years after the retirement of the Shuttle in July 2011 the Dragon was the only craft capable of carrying significant downmass from the ISS.
   Section::::Space Shuttle.:Capabilities.
  
  Each MLP weighs unloaded and roughly with an unfueled Shuttle aboard, measures , and is high. It is carried by a crawler-transporter, which measures , and is high. Each crawler weighs about unloaded, has a maximum speed of about per hour loaded, and has a leveling system designed to keep the launch vehicle vertical while negotiating the 5 percent grade leading to the top of the launch pad. Two diesel engines power each crawler.
   Section::::Types of weight.:Ditchable weights.:Clip-on weights.
  
  These are weights which attach to the harness directly, but are removable by disengaging the clip mechanism. They can also be used to temporarily increase the weight of a conventional weight belt. Various sizes have been available, ranging from around 0.5 to 5 kg or more. The larger models are intended as ditchable primary weights, and are used in the same way as BCD integral weights or weight harness weighs, but clipped to the backplate or sidemount harness webbing, and the smaller versions are also useful at trim weights.
  
  Section::::Types of weight.:Ditchable weights.:Backpack weight pouch.
   Section::::Design.:Internal power: electro-mechanical, not hydraulic.
  
  All seven HL-42 control surfaces were moved by electro-mechanical actuators, not hydraulics as on the Shuttle. The wheels (a conventional Shuttle-type tricycle undercarriage) were also lowered electro-mechanically, not hydraulically as on the Shuttle. This was the result of a deliberate shift in design policy: Langley Research Center had decided not to have any hydraulic systems on the HL-20, but to use electro-mechanical actuators instead, and the HL-42 followed the same principle.
   The most widely utilized and known IBC is the limited re-use, caged IBC tote container. Caged IBC totes are composite intermediate bulk containers — a white/translucent plastic container (typically high-density polyethylene) contained and protected by a tubular galvanized steel grid, common. Caged IBC totes are commonly used due to their low cost, wide compatibility, and versatility.
  
  Section::::Description.:Flexible IBC tanks.
  
  A standard flexible intermediate bulk container can hold and manufacturers offer bags with a volume of .
   According to Portree "Subsequent DRM evolution focused on minimizing spacecraft weight in an effort to reduce estimated mission cost." Although not officially given a designation "2.0", the 1997 "scrubbed" (that is, mass reduced) version is referred to by the designation 2.0 in later documents.
  
  Section::::Design Reference Mission 3.0.
  