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Most of the surface of the shuttle is covered with special insulating materials designed to protect the airframe and the people inside from the extreme heat of re-entry. The insulating materials also protect them from the cold temperatures and radiation of space while they are aloft. Different areas have different properties, depending on the amount of heat protection required.
The nose cap and wing leading edges are exposed to the highest heat during reentry - more than 1,260 °C (2,300 °F). Carbon fiber-reinforced carbon (aka carbon-carbon, abbreviated C/C) is used here.Note that while C/C has excellent thermal resistance & thermal shock resistance and a low thermal expansion coefficient, it is not as impact resistant as some of the other materials. It is believed that damage sustained during takeoff to the C/C on the leading edge of one of the wings to the space shuttle Columbia was the cause of the catastrophic failure during reentry that destroyed that shuttle.
Most of the underside of the fuselage is covered with either high-temperature reusable surface insulation (HRSI) tiles (coated LI-900 Silica ceramics) or fibrous refractory composite insulation (FRCI) tiles. These are a little tougher than the C/C and tolerate temperatures up to about 1,260 °C (2,300 °F).
Flexible Insulation Blankets (FIB), a quilted, flexible blanket-like surface insulation is used where reentry temperature is below 649 °C (1,200 °F). Earlier shuttles used Low-temperature Reusable Surface Insulation (LRSI) tiles on the upper fuselage and some may remain, but most or all of these were replaced by FIB as the shuttles were refurbished after each flight.
Starting in 1996 some tiles on the belly of the shuttle and elsewhere were also replaced with Toughened Unipiece Fibrous Insulation (TUFI) tiles.
The top and sides of the shuttle are exposed to much lower temperatures so white Nomex felt blankets are used on the upper payload bay doors, portions of the midfuselage and aft fuselage sides, portions of the upper wing surface and a portion of the OMS/RCS (Orbital Maneuvering System/Reaction Control System) pods. Nomex is a flame resistant meta-aramid, kind of like Kevlar. Kevlar is a para-aramid), but stiffer and with better temperature, chemical, and radiation resistance.
Each type of insulation has specific heat protection, impact resistance, and weight characteristics, which determine the locations where it is used and the amount used.
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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.
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.
How many people does it take to built one space shuttle?
1000 porple
How does liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen enter the main engines of the space shuttle?
It is supplied by tanks, which are filled with liquid hydrogen and oxygen before the shuttle is launched.
What was the 2nd space shuttle in space?
Second space shuttle in space was Challenger, but second space shuttle ever was Enterprise, what was made for testing in atmosphere.
What is the outside shield of a space shuttle called?
The Hull
What is the space temp outside the space shuttle while it orbits earth?
200
Who made a space shuttle that exploded?
who was thw frist people that went to the space shuttle
Is space shuttle an airplane?
no an airplane cant go into space whereas a space shuttle can. they're made differently
How do astronauts communicate outside the space shuttle?
They use radios built in their space suits.
How is the space shuttle made?
of mettle
What was the first space shuttle ever built?
Enterprise was the first space shuttle built, though it never made it into space.
When was the first space shuttle made?
The first space shuttle, STA-099, was built in the late 1970s.
When was a space shuttle made?
In the 70's.
Who where the people who made the space shuttle?
NASA.
Why can't a space shuttle go outside out the earth's orbit?
The space shuttle is designed for orbital flight only. The shuttle only has enough fuel to reach an orbit of approximately 600 km high.
