OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS Tasked by a new American president to get America back into space, NASA�s head of Operations and Administration, Robert L Carter has been working to raise NASA like a modern day phoenix from the ashes of its former glory into a bright and glorious future. Carter soon realises that to accomplish this goal will require not one but several initiatives each capable of working independently of the others, but also having the capability of coming together to create even greater accomplishments. Like a modern day engineering messiah Carter plans to resurrect NASA using programmes from its past to create its programmes for the future. He realises that it is far easier and vastly less expensive to re-engineer the hardware from older programmes, than it is to new-engineer new hardware for new programmes because for the most part all the research, development and testing has already been done. To that end Carter�s first operational act has been to take out of cold storage the space shuttles Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour and draw-up and implement plans which will create NASA�s first Earth orbital shuttle fleet, a fleet of three which will be based out of the International Space Station. To accomplish his first goal will require Carters engineers to remove the old Remote Manipulator System or Robotic Arm�s which are currently installed in the cargo bay�s of the three shuttles and to reinforce the cargo bay structures to accept not one but two new arms which will be constructed from a combination of new metals and alloys allowing the new arms to have an even greater range of manoeuvrability and strength and to enable them to handle an even greater range of tasks. Next the entire forward Reaction Control System or RCS which is mounted on the front end or nose of the shuttles is uncovered and its system reworked to accept an adaptor mounting which will allow a removable fuel pod to be fitted to the system, thereby allowing the shuttles manoeuvrability system to be re-fuelled in space. Similar work is also carried out on the two OMS or Orbital Manoeuvring System pods which are at the rear of the three shuttles. The final act to breathe new life into these old dogs is to remove from the cargo bay the old airlock which has been used in the past to either dock with the ISS or allow astronauts to exit the shuttle to perform EVA�s in space and to install a new even larger airlock. Carter knows that whilst the three shuttles are intended to be launched and remain in space, there may come a time when an emergency requires that they once again re-enter the Earth�s atmosphere so the landing gear of the three craft are fully serviced and left in place, as is the thermal protection system which is used to protect the craft from the intense heat of re-entry. To be continued.