Why did the Space Shuttle use solid rocket boosters?
NASA – Solid Rocket Boosters. The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) operate in parallel with the main engines for the first two minutes of flight to provide the additional thrust needed for the Orbiter to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth. The boosters also assist in guiding the entire vehicle during initial ascent …
What parts of the Space Shuttle are reusable?
All of the components are reused except for the external fuel tank, which burns up in the atmosphere after each launch. The longest the Shuttle has stayed in orbit on any single mission is 17.5 days on mission STS-80 in November 1996.
How reusable was the Space Shuttle?
NASA’s space shuttle was the world’s first reusable spacecraft. It launched like a rocket and returned to Earth like a glider, landing like an airplane on a long concrete runway. It was designed to carry large payloads — such as satellites — into orbit and bring them back, if necessary, for repairs.
What was the original purpose of the shuttle program?
The first goal of the Space Shuttle program was to provide NASA with an efficient, re-usable method of carrying astronauts to and from a permanently manned space station. At the time, NASA envisioned a space station which would be staffed by 12 to 24 people.
What is liquid rocket fuel made of?
Liquid fuel engines are composed of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The liquid hydrogen is the fuel and the liquid oxygen is the oxidizer. Remember, the oxidizer helps the fuel burn. The hydrogen needs to be in liquid form, not gas form, in order to have a smaller tank on the rocket.
What is in the solid rocket boosters on the space shuttle?
The primary propellants were ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer) and atomized aluminum powder (fuel), and the total propellant for each solid rocket motor weighed approximately 1,100,000 lb (500 t) (see § Propellant). The inert weight of each SRB was approximately 200,000 pounds (91 t).
What was the first reusable space shuttle?
Space Shuttle Columbia
The first (partially) reusable space launch system, the Space Shuttle Columbia, at its first launch 1981 (STS-1).
What are the 3 parts of a space shuttle?
The space shuttle was made of three main parts: the orbiter, the external tank and the solid rocket boosters. The orbiter was the part that looked like an airplane.