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The space shuttle goes into orbit around the earth. In order to stay in an orbit, something that is orbiting has to go at the right speed for that orbit. The orbit the space shuttle goes into has a speed of around 17000 mph. If it went faster, it would go up higher into space away from the earth. If it went slower, it would not have enough energy of motion and it would fall back to earth. The shuttle's big rockets don't just lift it up into space, their main purpose is to give the shuttle this enormous speed so that it can stay in its orbit. A plane engine is not strong enough to make the plane go this fast, but if it did somehow go this fast it would burn up.
When it is time to land, small rockets on the shuttle change the orbit so that it goes into the air. The air slows the shuttle down, and it starts to come down faster since it doesn't have enough speed anymore to stay in orbit. The air rushing past the shuttle has friction with the shuttle and gets very hot. As the shuttle goes through the air, it slows down from this friction, until it is finally going slow enough to land. When it lands the shuttle has slowed down to the speed of a plane.
What else can I help you with?
What was the fastest rocket speed?
The rocket that takes space shuttles into space recorded speeds f up to 40,000kmph. The space shuttles' rockets record up to 25,000kmph. There are also slower speed rockets.
What is a space shuttles top speed?
about 18,000 miles per hour
Are space shuttles fast?
In orbit the speed of the space shuttle is approximately 28 000 km/h or about 26 times the speed of sound.
How long would it take on an airplane to get to the moon?
Air Planes are not acceptable for flight to the moon due to gravity and etc. If you mean Space Shuttles it would take about 7 weeks minimum if a human was inside the space shuttle. Or it could take about a day or two to get there on machine speed. Air Planes - if they were capable - Are much slower than space shuttles. And would probably take double those times. Hope I helped!
What is the space shuttles average speed?
The average speed of the space shuttle was around 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour) while in orbit.
Can a space shuttle travel faster than the speed of light?
No 1). Nothing can. 2). No space shuttle ever came anywhere close to that speed. 3). No space shuttle can travel at any speed now, because that program has ended, and the remaining shuttles are in museums.
Why wouldn't space shuttles create sonic booms while orbiting earth?
Space shuttles do not create sonic booms while orbiting Earth because sonic booms are caused by shockwaves produced when an object travels faster than the speed of sound within the atmosphere. Since space shuttles travel at speeds greater than the speed of sound in space (where there is no atmosphere to create the conditions for a sonic boom), they do not produce sonic booms while in orbit.
How fast was Apollo 13?
it was the same speed as the other space shuttles till it had the explosion.
How can two orbiting satellites be joined?
the same way rockets, space shuttles and space stations join up. travel in the same direction, same orbit, similar speed and slowly approach each other
How do space shuttles move in space if there is nothing to push against?
The action of burning fuel creates thrust. Newton's Law: "To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". The "push" is on the shuttle itself, not on the surrounding space. Forward motion depends on the speed and mass of the exhaust.
Why does a space shuttle have to travel so fast?
Space shuttles must travel at 11km/s so that they can escape the force of gravity. the force of gravity is approximately 9.81. If you don't travel at a greater speed than the force of gravity, the rocket will not launch.
How do planes get into the air and stay up?
because they have engne that let theam go in high speed. And if you want to overcome the gravity and go outer space. You must have a speed of 250 000km an hour.
