What is the difference between a space ship and a space shuttle?

Answer 1

Answer

The Space Shuttle is a rocket.

By definition, a Rocket is a vehicle that burns gas that it carries with it. Where as, a jet airplane burns the oxygen from the air and is not a rocket.

The Rocket when it is launched has a liquid fuel rocket engines at the back end of it. It also has two long, solid fuel rocket engines that separate after launch.

But the space shuttle is pulled by a rocket.

Answer 2

Apollo missions either went to the moon, or were rehearsing the procedures necessary to go to the moon. Shuttle flights are only ever to low earth orbit or the space station ( slightly higher, but still considered low). The shuttle does not have the capability to go any further out into space.

Apollo missions were primarily for the purpose of exploring the moon, with a strong emphasis on geological research. Shuttle missions originally had a strong emphasis on 'shuttling' satellites into space commercially, but this was revised following the Challenger accident due to the time pressures this invoked. Now the missions are for the purposes of a wide range of scientific research, deploying non-commercial satellites, transporting new sections of the International Space Station, moving astronauts to and from the ISS, and also for the occasional classified military mission.

Apollo flights were powered by the massive Saturn V rocket, which was jettisoned once it had expended its fuel. Only the relatively small command and service modules continued on. The space shuttle is fueled by a combination of a fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. The latter fall back to the sea and are re-used and only the external fuel tank burns up. The shuttle itself also returns to earth and is used for many flights. The command module of Apollo missions was the only part to be returned to earth, and could not be re-used ( they can now be seen in museums).

The mode of re-entry was also different. Apollo capsules had an ablative heat shield which partially burned away during re-entry, taking the heat with it. The space shuttle has carbon-based protective tiles. Apollo capsules splashed down in the ocean, and the astronauts and capsules recovered by the navy. Shuttles make an un-powered landing on a runway either at Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Airforce base ( there are also many emergency landing sites around the world ).

The Apollo missions were fatality free during actual missions, although three astronauts died in a launch pad training fire. Three more came close to losing their lives during the aborted Apollo 13 mission when an electrical fault caused the oxygen tanks to rupture, crippling their craft. Fourteen astronauts have lost their lives during space shuttle missions. While the risks on each Apollo flight were much higher, there were also far fewer missions.

Apollo missions ceased in 1972 when government funding and public interest waned. The space shuttle program is expected to last until 2010, and there is talk of this being extended.

Answer 3

rockets are very tall and shuttles are usually half the size of rockets. And shuttles have 2 solid rocket boosters (the big white engines on the sides) but normal rockets have about 8 small solid rocket boosters. And a shuttle has a big external fuel tank in the middle of the shuttle. And normal rockets have 1 big engine but space shuttles have 3 small engines.

Answer 4

By definition a space shuttle is a spacecraft that is reusable unlike normal spaceships and are used to transport people and other cargo from Earth into shuttles or other places in space. Also space shuttles use two solid rocket boosters while a common spaceship is powered by rocket engines.

Answer 5

Had the materials science been able to yield the fantasy materials required, and Nature not covered the external tank with ice, the Space Shuttle would have provided a much less expensive payload to space than a conventional rocket.

Additionally, it does still offer the lowest acceleration rate overall (3gs or less), significantly lower than a standard rocket. This allows the payload to be more about instrument and less about structure.

Answer 6

The space shuttle could carry astronauts, satellites, and parts for the Space Station into space. Like a rocket, it had parts that broke away, the external tank (not reusable) and rocket boosters used to boost the shuttle. Once a mission was completed, the shuttle returned to Earth, gliding in like a plane on a runway. The rocket had three break away parts, but only the Capsule was reusable. It could land in a remote place/water. Despite being reusable, the shuttle was an expense on NASA, needing repair upon return to Earth. In addition, the space shuttle could only travel 350 miles from Earth. Rockets could go further. Presently NASA is looking for new ways to continue its exploration in space.