Fabula
Object
Object

Starboard Payload‑Bay Power Drive Unit (Space Shuttle)

A mechanical power drive unit mounted on the starboard edge of the Space Shuttle's payload‑bay door that controls the door's opening and closing. The compact industrial actuator assembly includes motors, gearbox housings, fractured mounting flanges, and power conduits (appearing scorched and smeared with hydraulic residue) and is currently jammed and refusing to move. In the narrative the unit's failure is the proximate cause of a shuttle emergency that converts a technical malfunction into a personal and political crisis for the White House team.
3 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments
S1E22 · What Kind Of Day Has It Been
Nighthawk Down — From Briefing to Breaking News

The power drive unit is named as the failed mechanical subassembly responsible for the starboard door jam; it is the technical proximate cause Toby's team must track and the lever for assessing crew risk.

Before: Installed and operating as the actuator/drive mechanism for the payload‑bay door.
After: Reported jammed or fractured, prompting an EVA and delayed landing procedures.
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S1E22 · What Kind Of Day Has It Been
The Payload Door: Toby's Personal Emergency

The power drive unit attached to the starboard door is named as the failed subcomponent; its jam converts a routine check into a mission‑level problem and supplies the narrative cause that necessitates an EVA.

Before: Functioning as the actuator/drive mechanism for the payload‑bay door.
After: Reported jammed; functionally inoperative pending crew remediation via EVA.
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S1E22 · What Kind Of Day Has It Been
Secrecy vs. Exposure: The Downed Nighthawk

The power drive unit on the starboard payload bay door is specifically identified as the jammed component, the proximate technical cause requiring an EVA and operational delay.

Before: Functioning as part of the payload door drive assembly in orbit.
After: Reported as jammed/failed, necessitating an EVA to correct the mechanism.
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