147,000 gallons of liquid oxygen
400,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen
A space shuttle typically uses around 400,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen for fuel during launch.
The Space Shuttle's External Tank carries 383,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen to power the Space Shuttle Main Engines. The SSMEs burn for about 8.5 minutes (510 seconds), which means they consuming about 751 gallons of hydrogen per second and 280 gallons of oxygen per second, or about 1031 gallons of propellant overall per second. As an aside, the Solid Rocket Boosters each carry 1,000,000 pounds of solid propellant (both fuel and oxidizer are combined) and burn for about two minutes. So, that equates to about 16,667 pounds of propellant per second for the SRBs.
The solid rocket boosters used by the space shuttle separate and fall away once they are burnt out, so there is no risk of them catching the shuttle on fire. Additionally, the boosters are designed to burn cleanly without producing excess flames or residue that could harm the shuttle.
The amount of fuel a rocket burns during liftoff depends on the specific rocket and mission. On average, a rocket like the Falcon 9 may burn around 400,000 to 700,000 gallons of fuel during liftoff. The Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo missions burned approximately 20 tons of fuel per minute during liftoff.
The external fuel tank caries 146,182 US gallons of liquid oxygen and 395,582 US gallons of liquid hydrogen to fuel the orbiter's main engines. Each of the 2 Solid Rocket Boosters each contains 1,100,000 pounds of propellent consisting of ammonium percholate, iron oxide, and aluminum. Electrical power is provided by fuel cells. The solid rocket boosters fire for approximately 2 minutes when they are jetisoned and recovered for reuse on later missions. The orbiter drains the external fuel tank within the first 8 minutes after launch and jetisons it to burn up in the atmosphere.
A space shuttle typically uses around 400,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen for fuel during launch.
The Space Shuttle's External Tank carries 383,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen to power the Space Shuttle Main Engines. The SSMEs burn for about 8.5 minutes (510 seconds), which means they consuming about 751 gallons of hydrogen per second and 280 gallons of oxygen per second, or about 1031 gallons of propellant overall per second. As an aside, the Solid Rocket Boosters each carry 1,000,000 pounds of solid propellant (both fuel and oxidizer are combined) and burn for about two minutes. So, that equates to about 16,667 pounds of propellant per second for the SRBs.
The shuttle does not fire it's engines in space, it only fires orbit adjusters.
The solid rocket boosters used by the space shuttle separate and fall away once they are burnt out, so there is no risk of them catching the shuttle on fire. Additionally, the boosters are designed to burn cleanly without producing excess flames or residue that could harm the shuttle.
Clinton
The amount of fuel a rocket burns during liftoff depends on the specific rocket and mission. On average, a rocket like the Falcon 9 may burn around 400,000 to 700,000 gallons of fuel during liftoff. The Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo missions burned approximately 20 tons of fuel per minute during liftoff.
The external fuel tank caries 146,182 US gallons of liquid oxygen and 395,582 US gallons of liquid hydrogen to fuel the orbiter's main engines. Each of the 2 Solid Rocket Boosters each contains 1,100,000 pounds of propellent consisting of ammonium percholate, iron oxide, and aluminum. Electrical power is provided by fuel cells. The solid rocket boosters fire for approximately 2 minutes when they are jetisoned and recovered for reuse on later missions. The orbiter drains the external fuel tank within the first 8 minutes after launch and jetisons it to burn up in the atmosphere.
The Space Shuttle Main Engines burn Hydrogen and Oxygen. The byproduct of this reaction is water. The formula would be: 2H2 + O2 = 2H20 + energy
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.
Space shuttles operate in the vacuum of space where there is no air to provide oxygen for combustion. Therefore, they carry their own liquid oxygen as an oxidizer to allow the fuel to burn in the rocket engines. This ensures that the shuttle can generate thrust and maneuver in space.
The tiles on the space shuttle form a heat shield. The shuttle enters the Earth's atmosphere at high speed, which creates very high temperatures that would burn up the vehicle if it was not protected.
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