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Why did they turn the external tank on the space shuttle orange and not leave it white?
Hullnich11
Actually, it is originally orange from the insulation they use, but they used to paint it white. They stopped painting them white to save weight on paint, I think like 600 pds or so.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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What is a shuttles main engine powered by?
The Space Shuttle main engines are powered by a combination of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) as an oxidizer and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) as a fuel. Both propellants are stored in the space shuttle's External Tank during launch. They are fed into the space shuttle's main engines by umbilical lines on the external tank, and then the orbiter's main propulsion system feed lines. The Space Shuttle's main engines can achieve a thrust level of about 512,300 pounds, which is greater than 12,000,000 horsepower.
What kind of engine does the space shuttle have?
The Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) also known as the RS-24 engines are liquid fueled reusable engines made by Rocketdyne and burn liquid hydrogen as their fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidiser. The shuttle has three engines. The fuel is stored in the large orange External Tank strapped to the shuttle's belly. On the way to orbit, the shuttle also uses two reusable solid rocket boosters (SRBs) which provide about 83% of the takeoff thrust. These use a solid fuel containing aluminum (the fuel), ammonium perchlorate (the oxidiser), iron oxide (a catalyst), and the mixture is held together with an epoxy and a binder (which also acts as fuel). While in space, the shuttle uses the reaction control system (RCS) thrusters which are seen on various places on the shuttle orbiter, and two orbital manoeuvering system (OMS) engines. The RCS and OMS use monomethyl hydrazine as the fuel and nitrogen tetroxide as the oxidiser.
How many trips did the Space Shuttle Columbia make?
The space shuttle Columbia completed 27 successful space flights, not including its final flight whereupon it was destroyed in the Earth's atmosphere. It was the only shuttle apart from the Challenger never to dock with the Mir Space Station or the International Space Station.
What is a engine used on a spaceship?
There are actually two types of boosters that were both used by the space shuttle before their decommission. To propel the vehicle out into space from the surface of the earth out past the atmosphere, the shuttle used SRB's, or Solid Rocket Boosters. The engines on the actual shuttle are LRB's, or Liquid Rocket Boosters. These are used to propel the space vehicle further into space and into orbit around the earth.
How many people does it take to built one space shuttle?
1000 porple
What is orange object on space shuttle?
It is called the "External Tank", or ET for short. It holds the space shuttle's liquid hydrogen fuel, and it's oxidizer, liquid oxygen.
Space shuttle abbreviations ET?
The ET is the External Tank. It is the large orange tank you see attached to the Shuttle during the launch phase.
What is the definition of external tank?
it is space shuttle
What drops off a space shuttle after take off?
At the 2 minutes after liftoff the solid rocket boosters (the two large white rockets on either side of the orange external tank) drop off and fall into the Atlantic. At the 8 minute mark the orange external tank falls off and burns up in the atmosphere. At that point the shuttle is in space.
What is really the space shuttle?
Contrary to popular belief, the Space Shuttle is the orbiter, external boosters and external tanks combined. The bit that actually goes into space is called the orbiter.
What is the space shuttle external tank made of?
The Space Shuttle External Tank is made primarily from Aluminum/Lithium alloys, AL-2090 and AL-2195.
What is the external tank used for on a space shuttle?
the external tank carries the fuel
How does space shuttle work?
first the rocket boosters carry it into space then the external tank pushes the shuttle above earth then when the shuttle is ready the external tank falls off and the shuttle is ready for its mission then after its mission the shuttle lands and blows out a parachute come out from the back to help the shuttle slow down.any parts from the rocket or shuttle can be reused except the external tank.
How does a space shuttle work?
first the rocket boosters carry it into space then the external tank pushes the shuttle above earth then when the shuttle is ready the external tank falls off and the shuttle is ready for its mission then after its mission the shuttle lands and blows out a parachute come out from the back to help the shuttle slow down.any parts from the rocket or shuttle can be reused except the external tank.
What are the main parts of a space shuttle?
the shuttle system has three parts: the orbiter(or space shuttle), external tank, and two solid rocket boosetsr
What was the cause of the challenger expolsion?
The Challenger Explosion was caused by an external tank explosion. The space shuttle broke apart due to gasses mixing in the external fuel tank. The shuttle exploded and the space shuttle was torn apart.
Which part of a space shuttle orbits the Earth?
The external tank
