nasa facts the shuttle era

8/7/2019 NASA Facts the Shuttle Era

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The Spa ce S huttle launch vehicle. with the Orbiter atta ched iQ theexternal ta nk and a pair of solid rocket boosters. c limbs upwa rdto begin its route to Earth orbit (a rtist s concept) This is a low-ang le view indicating tha t the sold rocket boosters w ill soon bejettisoned The extemal ta nk w ill als o be jettisoned before theOrbiter enters an Earth-orbital configuration

CoverA unique h gh-angle view of the Spa ce S huttle (artist s concept)The Orbiter sti l l att ac hed to the external tank a s the sold rocketboosters a re jettisoned. Climbs upwa rd to begin its Ea rth orbitalmission


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The Shuttle Era

O n December 1 7, 1903, O rv i lle and W ilbur Wrightsuc ces sful ly ac hieved sus ta ined fl ight in a pow er-driven a ircra f t . The f irs t f l ight tha t da y las ted only 12sec onds over a dis ta nce of 37 meters ( t 20 feet),which is a bout the length of the Spa ce S hut t leO rbiter. The fourth and f inal f l ight of the da y trav eled260 meters (8 52 feet) in 59 seconds The in it ia lnot i fica t ion of this event to the world wa s a telegramto the Wrlghts father.S ix ty-s ix yea rs la ter, a ma n f irs t s tepped on the lunarsurfac e a nd a n es t ima ted 500 mill ion people a roundthe w orld w a tched the event on televis ion orl is tened to i t on radio as I t happenedBui lding upon previous a chievements , new platea usin a ir a nd spac e tra nsportat ion ha ve been reac hedmili tary avia t ion, a irmai l , commercia l passengerserv ice , the )et a ge. and ma nned spac e f light N ow anew ere nears . T he beginning of regular ly scheduledruns of NA S A 's S pac e Shut t le to and f rom Earth orbi tin the 1980 s ma rks the coming of a ge in spa ce T heS hut t le turns formida ble a nd cos t ly spac e miss ionsinto rout ine a nd economica l operat ions tha tgenerat e ma ximum benef its for a l l people S hut t leopens s pac e to men and women of al l na t ions w hoa re reas onably heal thy and hav e Important w ork todo there

T h e I n e r t i a l U p p e r S t a g e IIUS) is d e p l o y e d f ro m o p e n p a y lo a d b a yof Shuttle O rbiter into spa ce by the O rbiter s r e m o t e m a n i p u l a t o rIartisl s concept) The IU', can rocket spacecraft togeosynchronous orbil3 0: into interplane t ary tra jectories The IUis one of two expendable t ow -cost propulsion vehicles that arebeing cons , dered fc r t h e S p a c e T r a n s p o r ta t i o n S y s t e m

A Versatile VehicleS pace S hut t le Is a t rue a erospa ce vehic le. I t t akesoff l ike a rock et. ma neuvers In Ea rth orbit l ike aspa cec ra f t . a nd lands l i ke a n a i rp lane The S pac eS hut t le i s des igned to ca r ry heavy loads intc Ear thorbit . O ther la unch vehic les ha ve done this Butunl ike the other la unch vehic les w hich w ere useddust once. ea ch S pac e Shut t le O rbiter may be usedaga in and aga inMoreover, S hut t le permits c heckout a nd repa ir ofunma nned sa tell ites in orbit, or return of thesa tel li tes to Ea rth for repairs tha t could not be donein spac e. This w i ll resul t In cons idera ble sa v ings inspa cecra f t cos ts . S a te l li tes tha t the Shu t t le ca norbit a nd ma intain include those involved Inenvironmenta l protect ion, energy, w eatherforeca s t ing, na viga t ion, f ishing, farming, ma pping,ocea nogra phy, a nd many other fields useful to ma n.Spacecraft destined for geosynchronous orbit willbe boosted from low Ea rth orbit by ei ther a S ol idS p inn ing U pper S ta ge (S S U S ) or b / the Inert ia lU pper S tag e ( I US ) tha t i s be ing developed by theU nited S ta tes A i r F orce . Interplane ta ry spac ecra f tw i ll be propel led by a va ria t ion of the Centa urupper s tag e tha t has been used wi th the A t l as a ndTi ta n expenda ble launch vehic les.

W i th i ts m a n i p u l a t o r a r m e x t e n d e d . th e S p a c e S h u t tl e O r b i te rprepares to retrieve a s atellile (artist s concepti


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The large Space Telescope is bung des geed a s a n o p t ic a ltelescope observatory to be used in Earth orbit unhindered bya t m o s p heric distortion H ere. it is s hown bung deployed in orbitb y t h e S p a c e S h u t t l e

Unmanned satellites, such as the SF aceTelescope. which can multiply our view of theuniverse. and the Long Duration Exposure Facility(LDEF), which can demonstrate the effects onmaterials of long exposure to the spaceenvironment, can be placed in orbit. erected. andreturned to Earth by the Space Shuttle. Shuttlecrews can also perform such services as replacingthe Space Telescope's film packs and lenses TheSpace Telescope program is managed by NASA'sN; .rshall Space Flight Center. Huntsville. Alabamaanc' the LDEF is a project of the NASA LangleyResearch Center, Hampton, Virginia.The Shuttle is a manned spacecraft, but unlikemanned spacecraft of the past such as Mercury,Gemini, and Apollo, it touches down like an airplaneon a landing strip Thus, the Shuttle eliminates theneed for the expensive sea recovery force requiredfor Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo In addition, unlikethe previous manned spacecraft, the Shuttle isreusable It can be refurbished and ready for anotherjourney into space in a comparatively shortturnaround time.The Shuttle can quickly provide a vantage point inspace for observations of transient astronomicalevents or of sudden weather, agricultural, orenvironmental crises Information from Shuttleobservations could contribute to sound decisionsfor countries dealing with such problems.

The Shuttle is scheduled to carry a completescientific laboratory called "Spacelab" Into Earthorbit Developed by the European Space Agency(ESA), Spacelab is similar to earthboundlaboratories but is adapted to operate in zerogravity (weightlessness) It provides a shirt-sleeveenvironment, sui,able for working, eating, andsleeping without the encumbrance of specialclothing or space suits.Spacelab provides facilities for as many as fourlaboratory specialists to conduct experiments i,%such fields as medicine, manufacturing, astronomy,and pharmaceuticals Spacelab remains atta r:ned tothe Shuttle Orbiter throughout a mission. Uponreturn to Earth, Spacelab is removed from tiieOrbiter and outfitted for its next assignment. It canbe reused about 50 timesSpacelab personnel will be men and women of manynations. experts in their fields, and in reasonablygood health. They will require only a few weeks ofspace-flight training.Participatin g ESA nations are Belgium, Denmark,France, Italy, The Netherlands Spain, Switzerland,United Kingdom, AuEtria, and the Federal Republicof Germany (West G :!rmany) Spacelab is anexample of international sharing of space costs andof worldwide interest in the study of science in aspace environmentProjects that only recently were considereCmpracticaole become feasible with Space Shuttle.Shuttle can carry into orbit the building blocks forlarge solar power stations that would convert theabundant solar neat and sunlight of space intounlimited suppl,es of electricity for an energy-hungry world.lhese building blocks would beassembled by specialists, transported, andsupported by 'pace Shuttle.The Shuttle can also carry the building blocks forself-sustainir g settlements into Earth orbit.Inhabitants of , hese settlements could be employedin such vital occupations as building andmaintaining so l ar power stations and manufacturingdrugs, metals. glass for lenses. and electroniccrystals Marufacturing in weightless space couldreduce cos t s of certain drugs, create new alloys,produce drugs and lenses of unusual purity, andenable cryt0als to grow very large Drugs, metals,glass, and electronic crystals will also bemanufactured during Spacelab missions, longbefore the estab;ishment of any space settlement.


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A high - a n g l e f r o n t f th eOrbiter vehicle in E a r t h o r b itc a r r y in g S p a c z l a b h a r d w a r e a st h e p r i m a r y c a r g o i n i t s p a y l o a dbay (artist s c o n c e p t )A c r e w m e m b e r is s e e n p e r fo r m i n gextravehicular operations outsidet h e p r e s s u r i z e d l a b o r a t c , y to th ep a y l o a d b a y

Space Shuttle System and Mission Profile(Principal Components)

The S pac e S hut t le fl ight sys tem is composed of theO rbiter . an ex terna l t ank (ET ) tha t conta ins thea sc ent propel la nt to be used by the Orbi ter mainengines , a nd two so l id rocke t boos ters (S RB's ) .Eac h booster rocket has a s ea level thrust of 11 8million newtons (2 65 million pounds) The Orbiterand the S RB's a re reusa ble, the external tank isexpended on eac h la unch.The O rbiter is the crew and pa yload c arrying uni t ofthe Shut t le system. I t i s 37 meters (122 feet) longand 17 m eters (57 feet) high, has a w ings pan of 24meters (78 feet) , and weighs a bout 68000k i logra ms (150000 pounds) w i thout fuel. I t is a boutthe s ize and w eight of a DC -9 commerc ial antransport .The d i rec t ion of Ea r th ro ta t ion has a s ign i fi c an tbear ing on the pa y load launch c a pabi li t ies of theS hut t le . A due eas t launch from the Kennedy Spa ceCenter In Flor ida. us ing the Earth's ea s ter lyro ta t ion as a l aunch as s i s t . w i ll permit a t iyload ofup to 29500 k i lograms (65000 pounds) to becarried into orbit. A polar orbit launch fromVandenberg A i r Force Bas e in Ca l if c r nia, wherethe Earth's rota t ion nei ther as s is ts nor hinders the

S hut t le 's ca pa bi li t ies , w i ll permit a pa yload of up to18000 k i lograms (40000 pounds) to be c a rr ied intoorbit . The most w es ter ly la unch f rom Vandenbergw i ll a l low a payload up to only 14 500 k i logra ms(32000 pounds) to be trans p orted to orbit s inc e theEarth's rotation Is counter to the w ester ly la uncha zimuth. The O rbiter ca rr ies i ts c a rgo In aca vernous pa yload ba y 18.3 meters (60 feet) longa nd 4.6 meters (15 feet) In diameter The ba y isflexible enough to provide accommodations forunmanned spa cec raf t in a va r iety of sha pes a nd forfully equipped scientific laboratories.Ea ch of the Crbi ter 's three main l iquid-rocketengines ha s a thrust of 2.1 mi ll ion newtons (470000Pounds) a t sea le el They a re fed propellants f romthe ex terna l t a nk , which Is 47 meters (154 feet) longand 8 .7 meters (2 8.6 feet) in d iameterA t l if t -off the ta nk holds 720000 k i logra ms(1580000 pounds) of propellants, consisting ofl iquid hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer).The hydrogen and oxygen a re in sepa ratepres_: jr ized com pa r r r.ants^ f the lank Theexternal tank Is the only par t of the Shut t le sys temtha t is not reusa ble.


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Ile Orbiter working and uving areas

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flkN,I t ? .; 4 0 1iCrew and Passe iger AccommodationsThe crew and passengers oc ;upy a Iwo-level cabinat the forward end of the Oroiter The crew controlsthe launch. orbital maneuvering. atmospheric entry,and landing phases of the mission from the upper-level flight deck Payload handling is accomplishedby crewmen at the aft cabin payload station Seatingfor passengers and a living area are provided on thelower deck The cabin will have maximum utility.mission flexibility is achieved with minimal volume.complexity, and weight Space flight will no longerbe limited to intensively trained, physically perfectastronauts but will now accommodate experiencedscientists and technicians Crewmembers and passengers will experience adesigned maximum gravity load of only 3g duringlaunch and less than 1 5g during a typical reentryThese accelerations are about one-third the levelsexperienced on previous manned flights Manyother features of the Space Shuttle, such as astandard sc;A novel atmosphere, w i ll welccme thenonastronaul space worker of the future.Typical Shuttle Missio iThe Space Shuttle mission begins with theinstallation of the mission payload into the Orbi'erpayload bay. The payload will be checked andserviced before installation and will be activated onorbit Flight safety items for some payloads will bemonitored by a caution and warning system


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--y -Wwwn a typica l Shut t le mi3s ion, which las ts f rom 7 to 30days , the Orbi ter s ma in engines a nd the boosterIgni te s imulta neously to rocket the S hut t le from thelaunch pa d. Launches are from the John F KennedyS pac e Center in F lorida for eas t-w es t orbi ts or f romVa ndenberg A ir Force Ba se in C al i fornia for polar ornorth-south orbits

A t a predetermined point . the tw o unma nned sol idrocket boosters sepa rate f rom the Orbi ter a ndpara chute to the sea w here they are recov ered forreuse The O rbiter cont inues Into spa ce I t je t t isonsI ts ex terna l propel la nt ta nk lus t before orbi t ing T hePxternal tank enters the a tmos phere and break s upover a remote ocea n a t -,a.In orbi t , the Orbi ter uses i ts orbita l maneuv eringsubsys tem (O MS ) to adjus t i ts pa th, for rendezvousoperat ions. a nd, at the end of I ts miss ion, fors lowing down so a s to head back tow ard Ear th Theorbita l speed is nearly 8000 meters per sec ond(18000 miles per hour) . I t tak es a pproxima tely 90minutes for a n orbit of the Earth by the Spa ceS hut t le , whether l aunched from NA S A ' s KennedyS pa ce C enter or, for some lat er fl ights . f romVa ndenberg A ir F orce Ba se In Ca l ifornia The f irs tfour orbita l fl ight tes ts w i ll be launched from Pa d 39a t the Kennedy Spac e Center and land a t Edw ardsA i r Force Ba se, C a l i fornia

Solid rocket boosters landing at sea where they will be pickedupforreuse

Facilities on a p a r t o f t h e h u g e E d w a r d s A i r F o r c e B a s e in t h e d e s e r n a n d o f S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n ia f o r m t h e b a c k d r o p f o r th e S h u t t l e O r b i t e r101 Enterprise as it heads for a landing during Ihd fourth Approac h and Landing Test (A LTi free flight N ote that the ta il cone is r e m o v e df r o m t h e E n t e r p r i s e f o r t h is f l ig h t , w h i c h f e a t u r e d a 2 - m i n u t e 34 - s e c o n d u n p o w e r e d p h a s e a f te r th e O r b it e r s e p a r a t e d f r o m N A S A 905 a 747c a r r ie r a i rc r a f t. C r e w m e n for t h e f li g h t w e r e A s t ro n a u t s J o e H E n g l e , c o m m a n d e r . a n d R i c h a rd H Truly pilot


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The OMS propellants are monomethyl hydrazine asthe fuel and nitrogen tetroxidt as the oxidizer. TheyIgnite on contact. eliminating the need for Ignitiondevices.The Orbiter does not necessarily fol!ow a ballisticpath to the ground os did predecessor mannedspacecraft It has a crossrange capability (canmaneuver to the rignt or left of its entry path) ofabout 2045 kilometers (1270 miles).The Orbiter touches down like an airplane on arunway at Kennedy Space Center or Vandenberg AirForce Base Landing speed is about 341 to 364kilometers per hour (212 to 226 miles per hour)Atter refurbishing, the Shuttle is ready for anotherspace mission

Space Shuttle Vehicle Crew

The Shuttle crew can Include as many as sevenpeople: the commander, the pilot. the missionspecialist who Is responsible for management ofShuttle equipment and resources supportingpayloads during the flight, and one to four payloadspecialists who are in charge of specific payloadequipment The commander, pilot, and missionspecialist are NASA astronauts Payload specialistsconduct the experiments and may or may not beastronauts They are nominated by the payloadsponsor and certified for flight by NASA

Shuttle Management TeamNASA's Lyndon B Johnson Space Center, HoustonTexas, manages the Space Shuttle program and Isalso responsible for development, production, anddelivery of the Orbiter.NASA s George C Marshall Space Flight Center,Huntsville. Alabama, is responsible for thedevelopment production, and delivery of the solidrocket boosters, the external propellant tank, andthe Orbiter main engines. Test firings of Shuttleengines are carried out at NASA's National SpaceTechnology Laboratories. Bay St Louis,Mississippi.NASA s John F. Kennedy Space ,enter. Florida, Isresponsible for design and development of launchand recovery facilities and for operational missionsrequiring easterly launchesThousands of companies make up the Shuttlecontractor team They are located In nearly everystate of the United States

A head-on slew of a Space Shuttle Orbiter landing at the KennedySpace Center lartisi s concept) The huge vehicle assemblybuilding Ib AB l Is show n In the back ground

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nasa facts the shuttle era

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