Space ShuttleJustin Schultz

Space Shuttle

• Space Shuttle is the first orbital space craft designed for reuse

• Delivers payloads and a rotation of crew members to work on the International Space Station

• Can recover satellites from orbit• Usually designed for a lifespan of about

100 launches

Different Types

Air-worthy•EnterpriseSpace-worthy•Challenger-Disintegrated 73 sec after launch(1986)•Endeavour•Columbia-Broke apart during re-entry (2003)•Discovery •Atlantis

Cost

• To build Endeavour cost NASA $1.7 billion• One Space Shuttle launch costs $450 million• Trough 2008 we have spent about $170 billion dollars on the Space Shuttle Program

Main Components

Three Main Components•Orbiter Vehicle – Only part that enters orbit

•External Tank – Reaches 17,500 mph and the external tank is released

and burns up in atmosphere

•Two reusable solid rocket boosters– Two minutes after liftoff explosive bolts are fired off and

the SRBs parachute down into the ocean– Ships pick them up

External Tank and SRB

External Tank• Supplies liquid nitrogen and oxygen to main

engines

Solid Rocket Booster• Provides 83% of total thrust needed for launch• Made of ½ inch thick steel• Released at a height of 150,000 ft

Orbiter Vehicle

• Resembles traditional aircrafts• Wings at an angle of 81 degrees at inner leading

edges and 45 degrees at outer• 4 elevons at the end of the wings• 44 liquid fueled rocket thrusters– Allows for small amounts of thrust to help maneuver

the craft

• Typically 5-7 crew members• Typical Payload around 50,000lbs

Pressurized Cabin

Three Levels in Crew Cabin•Flight deck– Commander and Co-pilot and two mission specialists

•Mid deck– Right below flight deck and holds rest of the crew

members– Toilet, sleep locations, storage lockers, side hatch, and

airlock (big enough for two astronauts)

•Utility area

Cockpit in Flight Deck

Propulsion

• Three main engines attached to fuselage • In the pattern of an equilateral triangle• Can be swiveled 10.5 degrees vertically and

8.5 degrees horizontally– This allows for control for change in directions of the orbiter

Propulsion

• Three main auxilary power units (APU)• Burn hydrazine to provide hydraulic pressure

for the hydraulic systems– Even provides pressure for the main liquid-fueled

rocket engines (run by a computer)– For rudders, elevons, air brakes, and landing gear

Thermal Protection System

• Protects the orbiter from the 3000 degree F of atmospheric reentry

• Also protects from the -250 degree F in space• Covers whole surface of orbiter• Composed of seven different materials

Different Materials in TPS

• Reinforced carbon-carbon– Used in nose cap and wing– Composite material consisting of carbon fibre

reinforced in a matrix of graphite

• High-temperature reusable surface insulation tiles, used on the outside of orbiter

Columbia Disaster

• 82 seconds after launch a piece of thermal insulation broke off the external tank

• Striked the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the left wing– Likely caused a 6-10 inch diameter hole which would

allow hot gases to enter wing upon reentry• Breached the thermal protection system on the

wings leading edge• This happened at an altitude of 66,000ft and a speed of 1,870 miles/hour

Structure

• Primarily composed of aluminum alloy• Engine thrusters composed of titanium alloy• Windows made of aluminum silicate glass– Comprise of internal pressure pane, 1.3 in optical

pane, and an external thermal pane

Landing Gear

• Three sets of landing gear– Wheels– Brakes – Steering motors

• Emerge through heat shield• Must be lowered manually – Would be very dangerous if automatic due to

surrounding heat shield

Size

Height approximatley 185 ftDiameter approximately 28.5 ftMass 4.47 million lbm

Re-entry

• Almost all computer controlled except for landing gear– In emergency causes it can be done manually

• The shuttle flies upside down and backside first in the opposite direction of the earth’s rotation to slow down– Does this for three minutes

Re-entry

• Thrusters are used to control the shuttles angle• Flying at a 40 degree nose-up angle produces

high drag– This allows to slow down to landing speed– Also allows for reduction in reentry heating

• 4 S turns at 70 degrees of bank and 40 degrees nose-up angle (G forces at its peak)– This helps slow the shuttle to the correct landing speed