Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Capacity; Payload to Low Earth orbit; Mass: ... The Space Shuttle orbiter is the spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle, ... Empty weight: 171,961 lb (78,000 kg)
Space Shuttle orbiter: 122,683 kg (270,470 lb) Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-117, the heaviest flight of the Space Shuttle. LEO: Retired: 1981–2011 Apollo CSM: 28,800 kg (63,493 lb) U.S. crewed spacecraft for entering lunar orbit: Moon: Retired: 1968–1975 (Block II) Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle: 26,520 kg (58,467 lb)
The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) carried the propellant for the Space Shuttle Main Engines, and connected the orbiter vehicle with the solid rocket boosters. The ET was 47 m (153.8 ft) tall and 8.4 m (27.6 ft) in diameter, and contained separate tanks for liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011.
The orbiter was mounted relatively far forward for launch, its tail in-line with the booster's wings. The combined weight at launch would be about 2,030 tons. The orbiter would re-enter nose-high at an angle of about 60 degrees above horizontal, decelerating at a peak of 2G until it reached low subsonic speeds at 40,000 ft.
For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways to reach us
Engine Origin Designer Vehicle Status Use Propellant Power cycle Specific impulse (s) [a] Thrust (N) [a] Chamber pressure (bar) Mass (kg) Thrust: weight ratio [e] Oxidiser: fuel ratio
The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. [ 1 ]