0
What else can I help you with?
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.
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.
How does a space shuttle engine work?
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).
Are rockets and jet engines the same?
No. Jet engines draw oxygen from the atmosphere to mix and burn with jet fuel, and cannot function in a vacuum. Rockets carry their own oxygen, and can travel in the vacuum of space.
What is a LOX bottle?
Liquid Oxygen bottle
What is liquid Hydrogen used for?
Rocket fuel. Liquid Hydrogen plus Liquid Oxygen were the fuels used in the main engines for the space shuttle. That's what was in the big orange tank the shuttle rode into orbit.
Did the Saturn V use the same fuel as the space shuttle?
No. The Saturn V used a first-stage booster of RP-1 (kerosene) and liquid oxygen. The second stage used liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, as the shuttle engines do.The shuttle uses liquid hydrogen and oxygen for the main engines, and also two solid-fuel boosters (SRBs) when launched.
What type of fuel does the space shuttle use as it nears the orbit?
The space shuttle uses a combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel for its main engines during the ascent phase to reach orbit.
Fuel for shuttle takeoff?
Shuttles are powered by a combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, known as rocket propellants. These propellants are mixed and burned in the shuttle's main engines to generate the thrust needed for lift-off. The combustion of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen produces a high-energy reaction that propels the shuttle into space.
Why does a space shuttle carry hydrogen and why do they keep hydrogen and oxygen it in its liquid?
Why does a space shuttle carry hydrogen and why do they keep hydrogen and oxegen it in its liquid?
What kind of fuel does the space shuttle use?
The space shuttle used a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel for its main engines. These propellants are combustion products of a chemical reaction that produces high thrust for the shuttle's liftoff and orbital maneuvers.
What kind of fuel does a shuttle use?
The main three engines use liquid hydrogen and an oxygen oxidizer. These are delivered under pressure to fuel the main engines.A space shuttle uses a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen. Solid rocket boosters use a rubberized compound of aluminum and perchlorate oxidizer.Orbiter main engines use liquid hydrogen / liquid oxygen that is stored in the external tank.Hydrogen fuel is burned with oxygen-rocket engine.
Why are RS-24 liquid-fuel rocket engines used in space shuttles?
The space shuttle main engines (SSME) RS 24 engines use rocketdyne liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel in the engine that is designed in such a way that the engines are reusable.
Which kind of rocket engines are used on the space shuttle and why?
Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) are Rocketdyne RS-24 liquid-fuel rocket engines powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Solid Rocket Boosters used during ascent are solid fuel rockets manufactured by Thiokol Corporation fueled by a mixture of ammonium perchlorate oxidizer, aluminum, an iron oxide catalyst and polymers as a binding agent.
What type of fuel was used to launch the space shuttle?
The space shuttle used a combination of solid rocket boosters and liquid fuel. The solid rocket boosters were powered by a mixture of powdered aluminum and ammonium perchlorate, while the main engines used liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel.
What is orange object on space shuttle?
The orange object on the space shuttle is the external fuel tank. It contains the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that are needed to fuel the shuttle's main engines during launch. Once the fuel is consumed, the tank is jettisoned and burns up in the atmosphere.
What kind of fuel did the space shuttle use?
Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
