In case of emergency, can the pilot fly a shuttle manually, just using the hardware, like a fighter pilot?
ANSWER from Jon Blitch on February 24, 2000: It’s a great question so I forwarded it on to the Crew Module Manager, Mike Parrish, in order to give you the best possible answer. Yes, the pilot or the commander can take over from the computer by pushing one button labeled CSS. (crew stick steering) They can also give the control back to the computer by pushing the AUTO button. When the pilot takes over he uses a rotational hand controller that uses fly by wire technology to process the commands to move the flight controls. Return to top.
