Space Shuttle Justin Schultz
Jan 15, 2016
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