Space Shuttle

Perşembe, Nisan 23, 2009 · Kategori: Teknoloji





NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010. At launch, it consists of a rust-colored external tank (ET), two white, slender Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and the orbiter, a winged spaceplane which is the space shuttle in the narrowest sense.

The orbiter carries astronauts and payload such as satellites or space station parts into low earth orbit, into the Earth's upper atmosphere or thermosphere.[1] Usually, five to seven crew members ride in the orbiter. The payload capacity is 22,700 kilograms (50,000 lb). When the orbiter's mission is complete it fires its Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enters the lower atmosphere.[1] During the descent, the shuttle orbiter decelerates from hypersonic speed primarily by aerobraking and then for the landing phase it acts as a glider, making a completely unpowered ("deadstick") landing.

[edit] Technical data

Space Shuttle Atlantis transported by a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), 1998 (NASA).
Space Shuttle Endeavour being transported by a Boeing 747.
Space Shuttle Orbiter and Soyuz-TM (drawn to scale).
An overhead view of Atlantis as it sits atop the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) before STS-79. Two Tail Service Masts (TSMs) to either side of the orbiter's tail provide umbilical connections for propellant loading and electrical power.
Water is released onto the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39A at the start of a rare sound suppression system test in 2004. During launch, 300,000 US gallons (1,100 m³) are poured onto the pad in only 41 seconds.

Orbiter specifications[13] (for Endeavour, OV-105)

  • Length: 122.17 ft (37.24 m)
  • Wingspan: 78.06 ft (23.79 m)
  • Height: 58.58 ft (17.86 m)
  • Empty weight: 172,000 lb (78,000 kg)[14]
  • Gross liftoff weight: 240,000 pounds (110,000 kg)
  • Maximum landing weight: 230,000 pounds (100,000 kg)
  • Main engines: Three Rocketdyne Block IIA SSMEs, each with a sea level thrust of 393,800 lbf (1.752 MN) at 104% power
  • Maximum payload: 55,250 lb (25,060 kg)
  • Payload bay dimensions: 15 ft (4.6 m) by 59 ft (18.0 m)
  • Operational altitude: 100 to 520 nmi (185 to 960 km)
  • Speed: 7,743 m/s (27,875 km/h, 25,404 ft/s, 17,321 mi/h)
  • Crossrange: 2,009 km (1,085 nmi)
  • Crew: Varies. The earliest shuttle flights had the minimum crew of two; many later missions a crew of five. Today, typically seven people fly (commander, pilot, several mission specialists, and rarely a flight engineer). On two occasions, eight astronauts have flown (STS-61-A, STS-71). Eleven people could be accommodated in an emergency mission (see STS-3xx).

External tank specifications (for SLWT)

  • Length: 46.9 metres (154 ft)
  • Diameter: 8.4 metres (28 ft)
  • Propellant volume: 2,025 cubic metres (535,000 US gal)
  • Empty weight: 26,535 kg (58,500 lb)
  • Gross liftoff weight: 756,000 kilograms (1,670,000 lb)

Solid Rocket Booster specifications

  • Length: 45.6 m (149.6 ft)
  • Diameter: 3.7 m (12.14 ft)
  • Empty weight (per booster): 63,272 kg (139,491 lb)
  • Gross liftoff weight (per booster): 590,000 kg (1.3 million lb)
  • Thrust (sea level, liftoff): 12.5 MN (2.8 million lbf)

System Stack specifications

  • Height: 56 m (183.7 ft)
  • Gross liftoff weight: 2 million kg (4.5 million lb)
  • Total liftoff thrust: 30.16 MN (6.781 million lbf)

Kalıcı Bağlantı Yorum (0) Yorum yaz! Arkadaşına Gönder!

0 yorum yazılmıştır

« Önceki ::