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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 cant you use liquid hydrogen as fuel?
You can use liquid H2 as fuel. NASA has been doing it since the 1960's. However, the handling and storage of liquid hydrogen is challenging, and may not be within the capability of the average person to safely manage in a personal vehicle. Liquid hydrogen could be a fuel of choice for professionally managed public transit such as busses and trains.
Space exploration was revolutionized most by?
The development of advanced rocket technology and the creation of artificial satellites have revolutionized space exploration the most. These advancements have enabled humans to travel further into space, gather valuable data about the universe, and establish a continuous presence in space. Additionally, the construction of the International Space Station has allowed for long-term human spaceflight missions and international collaboration in space exploration.
Who designed the capsule in the mercury space program?
The capsule in the Mercury space program was designed by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. It was known as the Mercury spacecraft, or "Freedom 7" for the first manned flight with Alan Shepard in 1961.
Will Hubble still be used after the James Webb telescope in launched?
Yes, Hubble is expected to continue operating alongside the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). While JWST will offer new capabilities in infrared observations, Hubble will continue to provide valuable data in visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared wavelengths. Both telescopes will complement each other in their respective strengths.
Most of outer space is taken up by?
Most of outer space is composed of vacuum, which is a near-perfect emptiness with very low density of particles. It also consists of various forms of energy, such as electromagnetic radiation. Additionally, there are celestial bodies like stars, planets, asteroids, and comets scattered throughout space.
Aircraft cannot travel to or operate in space, for several reasons. # All aircraft require atmosphere for both propulsion and lift - with no atmosphere in space, an aircraft could not propel its way forward. # Aircraft do not have self-contained environmental control systems - they take in clean air from outside and circulate that air in the interior cabin. With no atmosphere, the occupants would run out of usable oxygen. # Aircraft do not have sufficient protection against solar radiation that a spacecraft experiences. The aircraft would overheat. # Even without the above problems, an aircraft does not have enough fuel to reach the space station, which is in a low-earth orbit. In short, aircraft are not designed to travel out to space.
Eagle was the lunar module of Apollo 11 that landed on the moon for the first moon landing. All of the moon landings had a lunar module which could separate from the main craft and land on the moon. It could then take off again and dock with the main craft. The different lunar modules were given different names.
How can the command centre communicate with the space ship in space if outer space is a vacuum?
They use radio waves which are a type of electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves can travel through a vacuum Ligth is a type of electromagnetic wave and that travels through space from the sun and the stars.
What is an Eva during a space mission?
An Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) during a space mission is when an astronaut ventures outside their spacecraft or space station into the vacuum of space to perform tasks such as repairs, maintenance, or experiments. EVAs are carefully planned and monitored to ensure astronaut safety in the harsh conditions of space.
What is the height of space lab in orbit?
About 350 kilometres (220 mi) above the surface of the Earth.
How long does it take to travel from space to earth?
It depends on how fast the spacecraft goes. With current technology, maybe around 6 months (with an average speed of 35,000 km/h or so). But, if you were to travel 40,000 kilometers for a spacecraft, it would only take about 16 days.
Why do sonic booms happen in two's?
Sonic booms happen in pairs when an object producing the boom passes overhead twice: once when the object approaches the observer at supersonic speeds, and again when it moves away from the observer. Consequently, an initial boom is followed by a secondary boom.
How much did space mission STS-96 cost?
The total cost for space mission STS-96 was approximately $500 million. This mission was launched on May 27, 1999, and its primary objective was to transport supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.
What was the first space mission that had people die in it?
The Soviet Union may have lost several astronauts in flight in the 1960's and early '70's. However, the Soviet Union was also very secretive about their space program; they never made any announcements until after the flight had landed. And even then, they would sometimes lie about details.
The first American astronauts to die during a space mission were the crew of the Challenger space shuttle.
A rocket is a motor that can burn fuel without requiring?
oxygen from the surrounding air, making it suitable for space travel where there is no atmosphere.
How much does it cost to send someone into space?
The cost to send someone into space can vary greatly depending on the type of mission, spacecraft, and space agency or company involved. Currently, the cost for a seat on a commercial spaceflight can range from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Sonic booms occur when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound, creating a shockwave of compressed air. This rapid change in air pressure produces a loud noise heard on the ground as a loud bang or boom.
Can a space shuttle land on Jupiter?
Jupiter is one of the four 'gas giant' planets. Unlike rocky worlds like Earth, Jupiter is composed almost entirely of gas. Inside this swirling ball of gas lies a small core of solid rock.
Jupiter is a 'gas giant', so it's not possible to land a ship on its surface. Travelling far below the clouds of this planet is not advised. Temperatures and pressures soon begin to rise. So far, no probes have survived over 150 metres below the surface of Jupiter.
It is not possible to land on Jupiter. It is made primarily from hydrogen & helium gases, with a rocky core consisting of heavier elements.
Could you see smoke from the 911 terrorrists from outer space?
Yes. Satellite photos of New York on 9/11 clearly showed the plumes of smoke.
Was the Phoenix Space mission successful?
Yes, the Phoenix Mars Lander mission, launched in 2007, was successful in discovering evidence of water ice on Mars and providing valuable data about the planet's surface. The mission operated for about five months before losing communication due to harsh winter conditions on Mars.
That would depend on where you are. We can see other planets in our own solar system, but even travelling at huge speeds, it would takes us years to reach them. So you could see Earth from a very long way and have no hope of getting back, or surviving long enough to do so.
It is a little strange that things in higher orbits actually travel more slowly than things in lower orbits. The Space Shuttle and the International Space Station both orbit in about 90 minutes, while the Moon - 250,000 miles away - take a whole month to orbit the earth.
There is one kind of orbit that has a special name and a special purpose. A satellite that orbits at 22,300 miles high will orbit the Earth in 24 hours. You might notice that the Earth revolves around its axis in 24 hours. So a satellite at that altitude orbits the Earth at the same rate that the Earth turns, which means that the satellite is moving just as fast as the Earth does. So the satellite appears to stand still in the sky!
We call this a geo-synchronous orbit. Geo, for Earth; synchronous, for "equal time". This is an especially handy orbit for things like communications satellites, which "hover" over the same spot on the equator.
How much horsepower does a space shuttle have after 10 seconds on liftoff?
This is a difficult question to ask, because it does not have a clearly defineable answer.
Power as physical quantity is defined as the amount of expended work divided by the time it took to do that work:
P = dW/dt
Work, however, is a more complex animal than you might have thought when setting the question. Work is a quantity that measures the expenditure of energy; any energy expended is measured as work:
W = -E
Thus, we need to consider how much energy the space shuttle is gaining (or how much work its engines are doing) at a given time.
The total mechanical energy of the space shuttle would in this example consist of potential energy and kinetic energy:
E(t) = Ep(t) + Ek(t) = mgh(t) + ½mv(t)2
where m is the mass of the vehicle, assumed to be close enough to constant during the ten seconds specified in the question;
g is the gravitational acceleration of 9.81 m/s2;
h(t) is the altitude of the vehicle as function of time, and
v(t) is the velocity of the vehicle as function of time.
To define the energy of the vehicle as function of time, we need to define the altitude and velocity as functions of time. To do this in meaningful way, we'll simplify the example with a few assumptions:
-the shuttle will travel upward only (constrained to one axis of motion)
-mass is constant or close enough to constant to not significantly matter, at 2,000,000 kg gross lift-off weight for the entire system stack
-the shuttle will have constant acceleration of 3g (it is limited to this acceleration for safety reasons).
Now to resolve the kinetic equations of the vehicle:
a = 3g
a = dv/dt
dv = a dt ∫(...)
∫dv = a ∫dt
v(t) = at + v0
v = dh/dt
dh/dt = at + v0
dh = at dt + v0 dt ∫(...)
∫dh = a∫t dt + v0∫dt
h(t) = ½ a t2 + v0t + h0
Thus, the energy of the vehicle at time t is
E(t) = mgh(t) + ½mv(t)2
E(t) = mg(½ a t2+ v0t + h0) + ½m(at + v0)2
To simplify things further, we can define initial velocity and altitude as zero:
h0 = 0, v0 = 0
E(t) = ½ mga t2 + ½m a2 t2 = (½ mga + ½ ma2) t2
Now, here's our function for the total mechanical energy of the vehicle. To determine the rate of energy consumption at ten seconds, we need to derivate the function by t:
E'(t) = (mga + ma2) t
Since E'(t) = dE/dt and P = dW/dt, we have our answer here by substituting our assumed values into this simple equation:
( 2,000,000 kg * 4 * 9.81 m/s2 + 2,000,000 kg * [3 * 9.81 m/s2]2 ) * 10 s
≈18.11 x 109 W = 18.11 GW
Based on this very simplified calculation, the space shuttle launch vehicle's total power output at T+10s is approximately 18 gigawatts, which translates to:
* 24,138,397.6 hp
* Full installed power output of Three Gorges Dam
* Eleven and a quarter of the projected power output of Olkiluoto 3 fission reactor (which will be the most powerful nuclear reactor in the world upon completion)
These comparisons should make it obvious why "power", especially axial power, is not especially valid or relevant quantity of capacity when you are talking about rockets, jet engines or other similar systems which rely on the reaction principle rather than mechanical traction for providing locomotion. Furthermore, the amount of chemical energy expended by the rocket motors of the space shuttle is significantly larger than the value achieved in this example; not all of the thermal energy generated in the chemical reactions is converted into potential energy and kinetic energy.
As a further exercise, you could try to define the power of a car with static 5 m/s2 acceleration. You will find that the "power" of the car varies as a function of time, rather than being a constant, clear-cut value.
Why is it that a subsonic aircraft cannot produce a sonic boom?
A subsonic aircraft flies below the speed of sound, so it does not break the sound barrier. A sonic boom is created when an object travels at or above the speed of sound, causing a buildup and release of pressure waves that result in a loud noise. Since a subsonic aircraft does not exceed the speed of sound, it does not generate a sonic boom.
Does a sonic boom occur only at the moment when an aircraft exceeds the speed of sound?
No, a sonic boom occurs continuously as an object travels faster than the speed of sound. The boom is created as the object's shock waves merge together over a certain distance known as the boom carpet, which is behind the object as it moves.
