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Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttles are reusable spacecraft with wings for controlled descent into the atmosphere. They are designed to transport astronauts between earth and an orbiting space station and to deploy and retrieve satellites. Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavour are the three Space Shuttles in operation today.
3,420 Questions
Why do the space shuttle fly in the thermosphere?
The thermosphere is actually concidered to be in space because it is so rediculously thin. Because it is so thin spacecraft can orbit in it without the need for thrust. It also helps protect from radiation
Why is there a space shuttle on the Florida state quarter?
The Kennedy Space Center, the launch facility for all NASA manned flights including the shuttle, is located on the barrier islands of Cape Canaveral, Florida (on the Atlantic coast eat of Orlando).
How fast does a space shuttle move in space?
Space shuttles use the gravitational pull from planets to propel/ sling the shuttle with speeds of up to 14 miles per second. Due to the lack of friction, moving objects take longer to slow down and accelerate quicker.
What is the 1988 space Shuttle Discovery 5 dollar coin made of?
The coins are copper-nickel and made in the Marshall Islands.
How many flights has the space shuttle Atlantis have in the last 3 years?
Space Shuttle Atlantis' last flight was in 2011. So from 2011, she did 5 missions. Here they are in order from oldest to most recent;
STS-122
STS-125
STS-129
STS-132
STS-135
Should space shuttle endeavor be capitalized?
"space shuttle" usually is not capitalized unless you're talking about "The Space Shuttle". Endeavour should always be capitalized because it is the name of the orbiter, and names should always be capitalized.
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.
Why does the space shuttle have windows not the launch window but the kind you look out of?
So they can find where they are going, like the ISS
How much fuel is burned on shuttle lift off?
Each of the two SRB (Solid Rocket Boosters) contains more than 1 million pounds of solid propellant. The large External Tank, to which the Shuttle is attached, contains more than 500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen which are mixed and burned together to form the fuel for the Shuttle's three main rocket engines.
The Shuttle proper with its Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) has two engines (one on either side of the tail) that burn monomethyl hydrazine fuel (CH3NHNH2) and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer (N2O4) which ignites automatically (no spark required) in the absence of oxygen in space.
How do you become a space shuttle pilot?
That is now impossible. To become an astronaut, you have to be admitted to their Astronaut Training Program.
What is the part of space shuttle?
If you mean by the roll they played, they were mainly used for going between earth and the ISS, repairing sattelites and telescopes, and doing experiments in space. Now the space shuttle fleet is retired and are in museums.
How do you drive space shuttle?
I think you mean "flying" a space shuttle in space.
The energy comes from the launch (via the SRB's and the large External Tank) and the actual direction is determined by the orientation of the nozzles (programmed sequences with no human interference).
In space the additional energy that may be needed comes from the on-board tank and the maneuvers are performed via the OMS (Orbiter Maneuvering System) comprising two main engines, one on each side of the tail. Their orientation (and the resulting direction of travel) is controlled by the pilot via a joystick, the intensity of the shuttle thrust is determined by the duration of the engines' firing time (a few seconds only, a very delicate task for the shuttle pilot).
Upon re-entry the shuttle is controlled like a normal aircraft, the wings are equipped accordingly. However, it is not powered; the energy comes from Earth's drag. In that respect the shuttle is rather a glider (sailplane). During the final approach the shuttle may potentially fly a full circle at one end of the landing strip and go for touchdown when the runway is straight ahead of the vehicle.
Is mica used on the space shuttle?
Oh, dude, mica is actually used on the space shuttle. Yeah, it's like this heat-resistant material that can handle the extreme temperatures up there. So, like, next time you see a space shuttle, just know it's got some mica hanging out on it, keeping things cool.
Which fuel is used in spacecraft?
Spacecraft use either liquid or solid fuel. All rockets operate on a combination of a fuel and an oxidizer to help the fuel burn.
Russian rockets use liquid fuel, a combination of Liquid Oxygen (also called LOX) and a highly refined form of kerosene (also called RP-1). American and other rockets and spacecraft use a combination of liquid fuel as above and solid fuel.
Solid rocket fuel is composed of fuel like charcoal, metals such as alumnium or zinc, or even sugar along with potassium nitrate as an oxidizer all combined in a binder such as rubber or forms of plastics. An additive such as sulfur can also be added to help stabilize the burn.
Once in orbit, hypergolic fuels are used. 2 chemicals are used which, when combined explode. This allows rockets to be used without any ignition source.
How many stages in a rocket engine?
It depends. Some rocket engines have a single stage, some have 3 or more.
Staging allows for the overall weight of the vehicle to be reduced by dropping off parts of the rocket and continuing on with smaller rocket engines and less fuel.
Why do space shuttles heat up when they re-enter into the earths atmosphere?
When the shuttle goes from the vacuum of space and enters the earths atmosphere, it heats up because of simple friction. The friction is from the shuttle going so fast and hitting the atmosphere. Same reason you sometimes see meteor showers.
What was the highest a space shuttle ever went?
600km circular orbit during hubble telescope missions
