Getting into Orbit

The Space Shuttle design has three main elements: the spacecraft itself, called the orbiter; an external propellant tank; and two solid-fuel rocket boosters. The orbiter looks like a stubby airplane with small, swept-back wings. The external tank holds fuel for the spacecraft’s main engines. The boosters provide most of the lift during the first 2 minutes of flight. All elements of the Space Shuttle are reused except for the external pro­pellant tank. The Space Shuttle’s two

TECHibTALK

THE SPACE SHUTTLE

Length: 122 feet (37 meters). Wingspan: 78 feet (24 meters).

Length with fuel tank and boosters: 184 feet (56 meters).

Cargo bay: 60 feet by 15 feet (18 meters by 4.5 meters).

Maximum payload: 50,000 pounds (22,700 kilograms).

Orbit altitude: about 185-250 miles (300-400 kilometers).

Orbit speed: 17,321 miles per hour (27,870 kilometers per hour).

Landing speed: about 215 miles per hour (345 kilometers per hour).

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solid-fuel boosters burn out 2 minutes after liftoff, at a height of about 28 miles (45 kilometers). They are landed by parachutes and used again. The external tank holds more than 1.57 million pounds (713,000 kilograms) of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. When this fuel is used up, after 8 minutes, the empty tank is jettisoned over the ocean just before the Space Shuttle enters orbit. The tank then burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Once in orbit, a Space Shuttle pilot can fire small thruster motors to maneu­ver the craft. The thrusters may be used to change direction and to slow down, for example when docking with the International Space Station.