Space Shuttle

The Orbiter Maneuvering System or OMS are two small engines (smaller then the Space Shuttle Main Engines) that allow the orbiter to lower or raise its orbit during a mission. It is also used to slow the orbiter down for re-entry.

The normal amount of G-force an astronaut inside the space shuttle should experience during lift off is around two to three Gs.

At launch the gravity that they experience is about 1.7 g's and by the time the solid rocket boosters are separated which is two minutes into the launch the g-force will be over 2 g's. At the separation of the solid rocket booster, the g-force will decrease to just over 1 g. During the last one minute of the ascent, which is for 8.5 minutes, when the main engines ignited the last full minute, we will experience about 3 g's, and when the main engines cut off around 8 minutes, 30 seconds, you go right into zero-g and everything starts to float around.

As a spacecraft enters the atmosphere, it will travel at a tremendously high speed. The friction from the air rubbing against the spacecraft causes lots of heat. To protect against this heat, spacecraft use heat shields. Most spacecraft use blunt, spherical, or conic heat shields which help slow the vehicle down, and dissipate the heat in the surrounding air. These heat shields are also usually made out of abalative material. Abalative materials sublimate into gas at high temperature. As a result, they absorb thermal energy but erode away as the vehicle enters the atmosphere. However modern spacecraft are being developed to have re-usable heat shields. The Space Shuttle, in particular, uses a series of thermal insulating tiles that absorb and radiate heat while preventing conduction to the shuttle's aluminum skin. These tiles can be re-used many times.

The flying shuttle, an innovation in weaving technology, is not widely used today in its original form. However, modern weaving machines have evolved to incorporate similar principles for increased efficiency and productivity in textile production.

The commander of the first space shuttle flight was John Young and the pilot was Robert Crippen. Young was a veteran of 5 space flights were as Crippen was a rookie. the mission lasted only two days. The flight was performed with the space shuttle Columbia and past with flying colours, even though certain anomalies could have been life threatening.

The sonic boom was first discovered by John William Strutt, also known as Lord Rayleigh, a British scientist, in the late 19th century. He studied the phenomenon of sound waves traveling at or faster than the speed of sound and their effects on air pressure, leading to the understanding of the sonic boom.

The Space Shuttle was used by NASA for human spaceflight missions, such as deploying satellites, conducting research in microgravity, and servicing the Hubble Space Telescope. It served as a reusable spacecraft for launching missions into space and returning them safely back to Earth.

The limit of outer space is only 100 km high. Flying with the space shuttle, the trips takes roughly about 8 and a half minutes. but that doesn't include orbit insertion. To reach the International Space Station (ISS) it takes 2 full days!

The moon is at an estimated distance of 320 000 km from the Earth. The shuttle is on average 350 km form the surface of the earth... that means that the moon is about 915 times further away from the Earth then the space shuttle!

A rocket is set on fire when coming back to Earth to slow down its speed and enable a controlled descent. This process is known as a reentry burn, and it helps prevent the rocket from burning up or losing control as it reenters the earth's atmosphere at high speeds.

It has to overcome its' own weight and obtain a speed of 17,500 miles an hour to escape the Earths' gravitational pull. That is 3.38 x 1012 Joules. 3,380,000,000,000 joules.

No, the space shuttle program was retired by NASA in 2011. Since then, NASA has been using different spacecraft, like SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner, to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

The first space shuttle ever built was the Space Shuttle Enterprise. It was constructed as a prototype and test vehicle and never flew into space. Enterprise was used for approach and landing tests before the operational shuttle flights began with Columbia.

The Columbia Space Shuttle spent a total of 15 days, 16 hours, and 34 minutes on its final mission before tragically disintegrating upon reentry on February 1, 2003.

On the 12th of April 1981, Commander John Young and Pilot Roger Crippen launched aboard the first ever space shuttle launch. The mission started from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and ended at the Edwards Air Force Base in California 2 days later.

No, a fly cannot fly on a rocket because rockets provide too much acceleration and force for a small insect like a fly to withstand. The intense speed and pressure of a rocket launch would be fatal for a fly.

The space shuttle does not use solar panels . Instead it uses Fuel cells that mix hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity, heat and water. the shuttle could also use Auxiliary Power Units or APU to generate hydraulic power for the aerodynamic control surfaces (elevons, body flap, rudder...)

A space shuttle has never left the galaxy and never will. However, theoretically it would take a space shuttle an unimaginable amount of time to leave the galaxy. (I'm sure someone can provide a more precise answer).

The official answer... way to long!

If you really want a mathematical answer lets give it a try...

speed of light is 3*10^8 m/s

60 secondes per minute, 60 minutes per hour, 24 hour per day and 365 days per year:

60*60*24*365 = 31 536 000 secondes/year.

300 000 km/s * 31 536 000 s/year = 9 460 800 000 000 km/year ---> this is the distance light travels in one year.

The Shuttle travels at an approximate speed of 28 000 km/h

28 000 km/h * 24 * 365 = 245 280 000 km/year

100 000 light years * 9 460 800 000 000 km = 946 080 000 000 000 000 km

946 080 000 000 000 000 / 245 280 000 = 3 857 142 857 years

I hope there is an inflight movie!

Space shuttles were designed for multiple missions, but they required extensive refurbishment between flights. The average number of flights for a single shuttle was around 25-30 missions. Each shuttle was retired after completing its designated mission count.

The first shuttle to explode during a mission was the space shuttle Challenger back in 1986. It exploded 73 seconds after launch, killing all 7 people aboard. Space Shuttle
Endeavour was built to replace Challenger.

The most recent shuttle disaster was in 2003 with space shuttle Columbia. The shuttles heat tiles were damaged during launch. The damaged tiles were not able to protect the shuttle effectively and exploded killing all 7 astronauts aboard.

A rocket typically goes through three main stages to reach space: launch, ascent, and orbital insertion. During launch, the rocket lifts off from the ground and accelerates through the atmosphere. In the ascent stage, the rocket continues to gain altitude and velocity until it reaches the desired orbit. Once in orbit, the rocket performs a final burn to achieve a stable trajectory in space.

Yes, space shuttles were designed to be reusable for multiple missions. They were launched into space, landed back on Earth, and then refurbished for another mission. However, the space shuttle program has been retired, and new vehicles like SpaceX's Crew Dragon are now used for space missions.

According to a report on the SpaceRef web site linked below as 'Lockheed Martin Awarded External Tank Contract', NASA has a contract with Lockheed Martin, New Orleans, that totals $2.94 billion to build 17 external tanks through Sept. 2010. That comes out to be an average price of around $170 million per tank.

However, the report mentioned above is about an addition to the external tank contract, so it may be a misprint and the 17 external tanks may be additional tanks added to take the contact to the end of the shuttle program. According to the reference linked below as 'The Assembly and Production of the External Tank', each tank costs about $55 million as of 1995.

Later tanks, called the Super Light-Weight Tanks (SLWT) cost around $5 million more than the earlier version, the Light-Weight Tank. The SLWT costs more because they use an aluminum/lithium alloy that is more expensive and harder to work than earlier materials. By making the tank lighter, the shuttle is able to carry a heavier payload. This change allowed the shuttle to meet the payload requirements for construction of the International Space Station.

The temperature outside a space shuttle while it orbits Earth can vary greatly depending on whether the shuttle is exposed to direct sunlight or in the shadow of Earth. In direct sunlight, temperatures can reach up to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, while temperatures can drop significantly below freezing in the shadow of Earth. The shuttle's thermal control system helps regulate internal temperatures and protect it from extreme temperature fluctuations.