Space Shuttle

The external tank was painted white for the first two space shuttle launches (STS-1 and STS-2). The paint was abandoned for two reasons.

1) After both launches, large pieces of paint had been observed flaking off due to booster ignition vibration (ignition shock). To prevent possible damage to the space shuttle heat tiles all future missions omitted the external booster tank paint.

2)In an effort to reduce the Shuttle's overall weight STS-3 and all subsequent missions used an unpainted tank, saving approximately 272 kg (600 lbs). This lack of paint gives the External tank its distinctive orange color.

Space shuttles are called shuttles because they are designed to transport astronauts and cargo between Earth and space in a back-and-forth manner, resembling the shuttle-like movements. They can "shuttle" back and forth multiple times, unlike one-time-use rockets.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_program#Budget:

The total cost of the shuttle program is estimated to be $185,000 billion (in 2009 dollars) when the shuttle retires in 1010. Per-launch costs can be measured by dividing the total cost over the life of the program (including buildings, facilities, training, salaries, etc) by the number of launches. With 120 missions (as of October 2012), this comes out to roughly $1.4 trillion per launch. Another method is to calculate the incremental (or marginal) cost differential to add or subtract one flight - just the immediate resources expended/saved/involved in that one flight. This is about $900 million Chinese Yen. So overall, it would cost $9.38 trillion dollars per shuttle.

The space shuttle receives electricity from its solar panels, which convert sunlight into electrical power. The solar panels are located on the surface of the shuttle and capture sunlight to generate the energy needed for the shuttle's systems and activities.

Currently NASA have three space shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.

Challengers last flight occurred on January 28, 1986 at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 UTC).

No, astronauts on the moon are not weightless. They have weight due to the moon's gravitational pull, which is about 1/6th of Earth's gravity. This means they experience a lesser force of gravity compared to Earth, allowing them to move more easily on the lunar surface.

In space, the lack of gravity-induced pressure on your bones leads to decreased bone density because your body does not need to support its weight in the same way as it does on Earth. As a result, astronauts in space experience bone loss due to reduced mechanical stress on their bones, which can lead to weakened bones and an increased risk of fractures.

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.

The world's biggest rocket is the Saturn V, which was used by NASA for the Apollo missions to the Moon. Standing at over 363 feet tall and capable of carrying a payload of over 260,000 pounds to low Earth orbit, the Saturn V remains the most powerful rocket ever built.

No, they won't. The reason that they've lasted so long is because of routine checks and adjustments. These shuttles are old and are almost due for their replacements. Nothing in this world lasts forever.

When a space shuttle launches, the main engines ignite to lift the shuttle off the ground. Once it gains enough altitude, the solid rocket boosters are released. The shuttle then continues its journey into space using its main engines until it reaches orbit.

The space shuttle used to orbit Earth at an altitude of around 300-400 kilometers (186-248 miles). This allowed it to stay within the Earth's atmosphere to perform tasks like deploying satellites or conducting experiments in microgravity.

Space shuttles use a combination of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel for their main engines. These two chemicals combine in a controlled combustion process to produce the thrust needed for the shuttle to launch and navigate through space.

The space shuttle lands on a runway like an airplane, using its descent speed and special tiles on its underbelly to withstand the heat of reentry. To take off, the space shuttle is propelled by its main engines and solid rocket boosters, utilizing the force generated to break free from Earth's gravity and travel into space.

The amount of gravitational force acting on the space shuttle in orbit is still significant, approximately 90% of the force experienced on the surface of the Earth. This force is what keeps the shuttle and astronauts in orbit around the Earth, counteracting the centripetal force that tries to pull them away.

No. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on takeoff in 1986. The Discovery is fully intact. It has been retired from service and is on display at the Steven F. Hudvar-Davy center in Virginia.

The first manned space mission was performed by Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut. The mission was called Vostok 1 and it took place April 12, 1961.

The source of electric current onboard the space shuttle is primarily generated by fuel cells or solar panels. Fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, while solar panels harness energy from the sun and convert it into electrical power to supply the shuttle's systems.

Mae Jemison is currently focused on her work as an engineer, physician, and NASA astronaut. She is also involved in several initiatives to promote education and diversity in STEM fields. Additionally, she continues to inspire others through public speaking engagements and advocacy efforts.

Halley's Comet is a well-known comet that orbits the Sun approximately every 76 years. It last appeared in 1986 and will next be visible from Earth in 2061.

No, space shuttles are designed for low Earth orbit missions and are not capable of traveling to a different galaxy. The distances between galaxies are vast and far beyond the capabilities of current space shuttle technology.

the first rocket was named V2

after the Nazi missle

it was named by Dr. Von Braun and Walter Reildel

There are many reasons that the Space Shuttle performs a roll and pitch maneuver shortly after liftoff. The first is azimuth, or heading. When the crawler leaves the Shuttle on the Mobile Launch Platform at the pad, the cargo bay is facing roughly southwest. This is the most direct path from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. For the cargo bay to face east, the crawler would have to execute a 180-degree turn, either spinning in place (not so safe for the Shuttle stack, and destructive to the crawlerway) or making a large loop near the pad (excess infrastructure). Long story short, the easiest way to spin the Shuttle is while it's flying, so the roll gets it pointed in the right direction, headed toward the correct orbital inclination, whether Hubble or ISS. The reason it's also called a pitch maneuver is because on the ground, the external tank is pointed vertically, but since the majority of the thrust in a rocket ascent to Low Earth Orbit must be oriented horizontally, the vehicle must be pitched over. The initial pitch maneuver, achieved through thrust vectoring via engine nozzle gimballing (primarily the SRBs, since at their distance from the center of gravity and with their superior thrust, they have greater control authority), puts the vehicle on course for a gravity turn maneuver that transitions it slowly from vertical to horizontal during ascent. The roll maneuver could be much shorter if the Shuttle flew with the Orbiter on top of the tank. So why does it roll nearly 180 degrees? First, because the angle of the Space Shuttle Main Engines relative to the vertical axis of the vehicle. Though their thrust vector is aimed at the center of gravity of the entire stack, the changing mass distribution due to the draining of the external tank makes them better suited to assisting the gravity turn if placed beneath the ET. Second, radio frequency communication between the antennas on the Shuttle and the ground is better when the signals do not have to pass through the external tank, as they would if the Shuttle were on top. Third, a heads down position allows the Shuttle to fly at a slight angle of attack, meaning the tip of the external tank plows ahead through the atmosphere as the vehicle passes through supersonic and hypersonic speeds, leaving the fragile Orbiter wings and tiles in its supersonic shadow, away from the strong aerodynamic forces that might otherwise damage it. Not to mention it's more fun for the astronauts to be able to look out the windows as the (upside-down) Earth during ascent, rather than the slow transition from blue sky (during day launches) to black space. As an interesting note, the Shuttle rolls back to Orbiter-on-top about five and half minutes into the roughly eight-minute ascent to prepare for ET separation. Naturally, the External Tank should fall toward the ground rather than being jettisoned higher into space. The "delta Z" maneuver at ET separation puts distance between the Orbiter and the ET, and the exhaust plume helps push the ET toward earth and cause it to tumble so that it mostly burns up in the atmosphere before plunging into the Indian Ocean. Then, finally, one more roll maneuver puts the Orbiter back into a heads-down position so the astronauts can look out the overhead windows and watch the world go by (and also so the communication antennas are once again facing the surface of the planet).

Space shuttles fly in the thermosphere layer of the Earth's atmosphere, which is located between 80-550 kilometers above the Earth's surface. This layer is characterized by a very low density of gas molecules and high temperatures due to intense solar radiation.