Space+Shuttle

​ SPACE SHUTTLES

The Space Shuttle has taken years to invent. It was invented to lower the cost of space flight. The space shuttle is powered by three different things:
 * Solid Rocket Boosters ** - lift space shuttle off the pad
 * External Tank**- carries fuel for the launchOrbital​
 * Maneuvering System**: carries astronauts and payload.



__Shuttle Fleet__: Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavor
 * Cost of the Shuttle Endeavor**: $2.1 billion
 * Total Weight at Lift-off**: 4.5 million lbs
 * Maximum Payload Weight**: 59,000 lbs
 * Shuttle System Length**: 184 ft
 * Orbiter Length**: 122 ft

The Space Shuttle is probably the most complex machine ever built by mankind. It represents a big leap of technology into the realm of reusable space vehicles.. Space Shuttle circles the planet at 17,000 mph.
 * Orbiter Wingspan**: 78 ftElectrical Power System: 7,000-12,000 watts

Amazing Facts
 * The Space Shuttle's Thermal Protection System is comprised of over thirty thousand tiles, all of which are inspected following a mission. Though they can withstand remarkably high temperatures, they are essentially constructed of (very pure) sand! In fact, one can be heated to peak temperature, yet become cool enough to be held in a bare hand within a minute of being removed from the heat source.
 * While the Shuttle's general purpose computers were state of the art at the time of their design, the average PDA today has far more raw computing power. The integrated data processors used for the Multifunction Electronic Display System ("glass cockpit"), for instance, employ 80386 processors running at 16 MHz, and the dedicated hard drive is a 300 MB model.
 * The cost of the Shuttle program, while far less than that of the Apollo program, still works out to an average of $1.1 billion per launch, high enough to counter the cost effectiveness argument for Shuttle. For comparison, the Delta IV Heavy, a USAF launcher with a comparable payload, has a cost of approximately $250 million, but it is not man-rated and cannot carry humans.



Photograph courtesy NASA NASA's space shuttle is unlike any other spacecraft ever built. The craft was designed to streak into space as a rocket but return as a glider, utilizing an aerodynamic winged shape to descend through the atmosphere and touch down on a runway much like a commercial airplane.

Read more: [] science.nationalgeographic.com/.../**space**/**space**.../**space**-**shuttle**-program.html - www.frontiernet.net/~docbob/**shuttle**.htm www.encyclopedia.com › ... › [|Space Exploration] www.brighthub.com/science/**space**/articles/31072.aspx