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Unlike the US Space Shuttle, which was propelled by a combination of solid boosters and the orbiter's own liquid-propellant engines fuelled from a large tank, the Soviet/Russian Energia launch system used thrust from each booster's RD-170 liquid oxygen/kerosene engine (each with four nozzles), developed by Valentin Glushko, and another four RD ...
The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after lift-off on STS-51-L at an altitude of 15 kilometers (49,000 ft). The investigation found that cold weather conditions caused an O-ring seal to fail, allowing hot gases from the shuttle's solid rocket booster (SRB) to impinge on the external propellant tank and booster strut.
Buran could return 20 tons from orbit, [91] [92] vs the Space Shuttle's 15 tons. Buran included a drag chute [93]; the Space Shuttle originally did not, but was later retrofitted to include one. The lift-to-drag ratio of Buran is cited as 5.6, [94] compared to a subsonic L/D of 4.5 for the Space Shuttle. [95]
The shuttle program was marked by triumphs and failures, including the 2003 Columbia disaster. The tragedies left a lasting mark on the perception of risks in space.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian space program continued to operate from Baikonur under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Russia wanted to sign a 99-year lease for Baikonur, but agreed to a US$115 million annual lease of the site for 20 years with an option for a 10-year extension. [18]
The Soviet space program [2] ... however this was a hard landing and was destroyed on impact. ... Mir in 1996 as seen from Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-76.
A fire in the aft section of SpaceX's Starship trigged the apparent explosion that destroyed the spacecraft, the company says. ... breakup in 2003 and the Russian Mir space station's intentional ...
The longest orbital flight of the Shuttle was STS-80 at 17 days 15 hours, while the shortest flight was STS-51-L at one minute 13 seconds when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart during launch. The cold morning shrunk an O-Ring on the right Solid Rocket Booster causing the external fuel tank to explode.