Space Shuttle

In microgravity conditions in space, water forms into spherical shapes due to surface tension and does not behave the same way as on Earth. It does not "float" in the traditional sense but rather sticks together in floating droplets.

The fuel used by the main space shuttle engines is super-cold liquid hydrogen, kept at a temperature of -253oC. The hydrogen fuel is combusted with liquid oxygen in a reaction that reaches temperatures of up to 3136oC to creates a high-speed stream of gas which ultimately generates the thrust necessary for launching the shuttle. This gas stream is essentially just very hot water steam with no CO2.

A spacecraft traveling to Mars would take about 6-9 months using current technology to complete the journey. The speed would depend on the trajectory chosen, but typically it would travel at an average speed of about 24,600 mph (39,600 km/h) during the trip. This speed is manageable and does not pose a risk to the astronauts on board.

Depends on how fast the shuttle was going. If it was traveling the speed of light, then only four years. The averal orbital velocity of the space shuttle is 17,000 - 18,000 mph. So let's see...

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second, 3600 seconds in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 365.25 days in a year.

So light travels 5,869,713,600,000 miles in a year

In four years it would travel 23,478,854,400,000 miles.

It would take the Space shuttle traveling an average of 18,000 mph 1,304,380,800 hours to reach that distance, which is 54,349,200 days or 148,800 years

The space shuttle Challenger, which exploded in 1986, was made by NASA, with various contractors involved in its construction and maintenance. The tragic accident occurred 73 seconds after liftoff due to the failure of an O-ring seal in one of the solid rocket boosters, leading to the disintegration of the shuttle.

The space shuttle is traveling at a speed such that its fall to earth matches the curvature of the earth. As a result, it is "falling" to the earth at the same rate that the earth's surface is rotating away, so it stays in orbit.

The ISS is 357 feet long, and compare that to a football field which is 360 feet long.

The space shuttle is a reusable spacecraft. It has 3 main engines powered by liquid fuel which are used to launch it into orbit with help from similarly reusable solid fuel boosters (the white rockets along the side of the shuttle during launch).

When returning after a mission, the space shuttle is unpowered and glides back for a landing.

See related question.

Differences: A single stage rocket uses all its fuel in one blast and only has one booster stage while space shuttles and multi stage rockets have more than one rocket. - Difference: A single stage rocket cannot go into space while a space shuttle and a multi stage rocket can
Difference: In a multi stage rocket and space shuttle, there is more that one rocket that burns to lift the payload off the ground. After the Stage has used all its fuel and is no longer burning it drops off the other rockets (stages). In a single stage rocket, all the fuel is used in one stage.
Similarity: Both space shuttles and multi stage rockets add junk into earths orbit. A multi stage rocket carries less weight because it drops the empty stages off after they have fully burned and then starts burning a new stage so that there is less weight to carry for the burning rocket so does a space shuttle; a single stage rocket dose not.
Similarity: Multi stage rockets and space shuttles add space junk into the earths orbit when they enter space.

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When the space shuttle goes through the atmosphere, the space shuttle can then by itself land safely because no fuel will be needed. You can use the atmosphere of the earth to slow the space shuttle down allowing it land safely with the payload. The payload will still be on the space shuttle because it won't be removed, only the equipment will be removed from the space shuttle. The shuttle has to do no work whatsoever when bringing it back to earth because it won't be needing fuel when landing on earth.

Economics is the main reason space shuttle orbiter vehicles land at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) landing facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida following each mission in space.

Millions of dollars are saved each time the orbiters can land at the same facility where they will be processed for their next mission as opposed to landing at a facility from where the orbiters would have to be transported back to KSC to be prepared for the next mission.

Only one space shuttle exploded during takeoff. That shuttle was the Challenger, which exploded on January 28, 1986. The only other space shuttle to be destroyed was the Columbia, which disintegrated on reentry on February 1, 2003.

Both Orion's spacecraft and the space shuttle are designed for human spaceflight missions. They are reusable vehicles that can carry astronauts to and from space, perform various tasks in orbit, and then return to Earth. Additionally, both vehicles have advanced thermal protection systems to withstand the high temperatures of reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

A space shuttle is a reusable spacecraft that is designed to carry astronauts and cargo into space. It is capable of launching like a rocket, orbiting Earth like a spacecraft, and landing like an airplane. The most well-known space shuttle program was operated by NASA from 1981 to 2011.

The launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor was on February 8 at 4:15 AM EST

The first space shuttle to go to Mars is expected to be NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts to Mars as part of the Artemis program. As of now, no space shuttle has traveled to Mars.

The space shuttle was steered using a system of thrusters and reaction control jets located on the orbiter and the two solid rocket boosters. These thrusters would fire in specific sequences to adjust the shuttle's course and orientation in space. Astronauts also used a system of onboard computers to input commands for navigation and control.

As of this writing, NASA has only three (3) working SPACESHIPS (as opposed to total number of SPACECRAFT owned or operating), the space shuttle orbiter vehicles, OV-103 Discovery, OV-104 Atlantis and OV-105 Endeavor.

However, NASA has previously announced its plan to "mothball" the costly space shuttle fleet following the STS-133 shuttle mission to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. The shuttle Discovery is slated to blast off in September 2010 on the eight-day trek that - if NASA's current plan holds - will mark the end of the shuttle era after 29 years of spaceflight.

NASA's lower-cost replacement for the space shuttle fleet has been dubbed Project Constellation.

Space shuttles are not designed to operate outside of a low-earth orbit, where they are protected from deadly radiation by the earth's magnetic field; a mission to Sirius by a space shuttle is not even possible. For more information on the earth's radiation protective field, see the Wikipedia article:
Van Allen radiation belt

Harrison Schmitt commanded the first flight in space during the 1980s. He is the last of the Apollo astronauts to arrive and set foot on the Moon (crewmate Eugene Cernan exited the Apollo Lunar Module first). However, as Schmitt re-entered the module first, Cernan became the last astronaut to walk on and depart the moon. Schmitt is also the first-and so far only-person to have walked on the Moon who was never a member of the United States Armed Forces (he is not the first civilian; Neil Armstrong left military service prior to his landing in 1969).

Humans have not technically visited any planet. We have sent landing craft to Mars and Venus though. Those missions were in exploration of possible future human habitats, but neither planet is suited for human survival.

There are many many many jobs that are vital for the success of a space shuttle mission.

Just to name a few:

Workers that actually assemble and prepare the parts of the space shuttle for a mission.

Engineers to determine if the shuttle and its payloads are safe and ready for flight.

Trainers to help prepare the astronauts for their mission.

Scientists to plan and assist with experiments onboard the space shuttle.

The Close-out crew to help ready the shuttle for launch while it's on the pad, and help the crew enter the vehicle.

Teams in the Mission Control Center to oversee the mission and assist the crew in planning and overcoming problems.

And the list goes on and on and on. There are many thousands of people who work hard to ensure the success of every Space Shuttle mission.

The US's first space shuttle was called Columbia. It was part of NASA's Space Shuttle Program and completed its first orbital flight on April 12, 1981.