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The RS-25, which is the official designation of the SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine), is composed mostly of a network of various pumps and valves that prepare the propellant for combustion. Like the engines of the rockets before it, the space shuttle's engines work by combining a fuel with an oxidiser (that is, an oxidising agent) and igniting the resulting mixture. This two-part propellant is necessary because fire needs oxygen to burn, and there is no oxygen in space; the oxygen is thus supplied by the oxidising agent.
For the SSME, liquid hydrogen is used as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidiser. These enter the shuttle from the orange external fuel tank (ET) through separate fuel lines. Turbopumps increase the pressure of each propellant component, preparing it for the combustion chamber (higher pressure causes more thrust). The components (which are still kept separate at this point) go through a number of other pathways that are annoyingly technical to describe (for an in-depth description of the processes, check out the related link at the bottom of this answer); for example, some fuel and oxidiser go directly to the main combustion chamber (MCC) and are ignited, while some fuel goes instead to a pipe around the nozzle and acts as coolant to prevent it from overheating, while some oxidiser is converted to gas and used to pressurise the oxidiser tank.
Ultimately, though, the fuel and oxidiser are combined in the MCC and ignited. The resulting combustion and expulsion of the burning mixture through the SSME nozzle produces a lot of thrust--1859 kN of thrust at sea level, and 2279 kN in a vacuum (space).
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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.
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.
Should you replace the space shuttle with a jet engine and carbon steel or provide stronger steel to jets to go into space?
A jet engine cannot take you into space as there is no air in space to provide the jet engine with oxygen. Also metals cannot survive reentry as they melt and burn up, unless protected by some type of heat shielding material..
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 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.
Why is the Space shuttle main engine used on a space shuttle?
UUUHH...it's called a "space shuttle" main engine...why do you think?
Where do they live on the space shuttle?
they live and work in the space shuttle.
Would a guitar work in a space shuttle that is in space?
I have known that it will not work in space while you are in the space shuttle. But it is a good thing that it works on earth but the bad thing is that it doesn't work in space. Answered by:SAV
Why is hydrogen used in the space shuttle engine?
To fuel it and cool it
Is the space shuttle louder than a jet engine?
yes
Why is there a white triangle under the space shuttle engines when they are lit?
Why is there a white triangle under the space shuttle engines when they are lit? Within the flame produced by a lit space shuttle engine, there are temperature and pressure differences causing the flame to appear in different colors. The white triagle is made the by the shape of the space shuttle engine in combination with these temperature and pressure differences.
Will rockets work in space?
Yes. The space shuttle uses rockets in space to manuever.
What materials did Goddard use to make the space shuttle?
Robert H. Goddard did not participate in the construction of the Space Shuttle. Goddard died in 1945. Work on the Space Shuttle program began in 1972.
What is a space shuttle what does it do?
A space shuttle is a reusable launch and orbital spacecraft. It was designed by NASA for human space flight. The space shuttle takes humans into space. It also can be used to deploy satellites, probes, additions to the space station, and parts used to work on the space station. The space shuttle has also been used to conduct experiments in space.
How is a space shuttle a glider?
When the Shuttle returns to earth, it does not use any engine power, it 'glides' back to a safe landing.
What is the difference between a space shuttle and a satellite?
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor.= Space Shuttle =Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), is a spacecraft which is a vehicle or device designed for spaceflightin other words Satellite is moving by gravitation while space shuttle by engine.
What is the name of the american space shuttle that goes into orbit?
There were 5. Space Shuttle Columbia (destroyed in 2003), Space Shuttle Challenger (destroyed in 1886), Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle Atlantis, and Space Shuttle Endeavour.
