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Rockets and Space Vehicles6 Articles

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What Is a Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle?396 words

What Is Juno?694 words

What Is Orion?1010 words

What Is the Soyuz Spacecraft?629 words

What Is a Rocket?778 words

What Is the International Space Station?695 words

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What Is a Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle?

What Is a Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle?This text is from the "NASA Knows!" series from NASA.

NASA

The Saturn V was NASA's first heavy lift launch vehicle.

A heavy lift launch vehicle is a type of rocket. "Launch vehicle" is a term used to describe rockets that launch people or payloads. Rockets come in many sizes. Some rockets are more powerful than others. Different rockets have different purposes. Heavy lift rockets are the most powerful type of rockets. NASA's Saturn V (5) rocket was the most powerful heavy lift launch vehicle to fly successfully. Other heavy lift launch vehicles include the Titan IV (4) and Delta IV (4) Heavy, Russia's Proton and Europe's Ariane 5.

How Are Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles Used?Heavy lift launch vehicles can do things that other rockets cannot do. They can launch larger payloads into low Earth orbit. The Saturn V rocket, for example, launched an entire space station, Skylab, in one launch. The Saturn V could launch about 130 tons into Earth orbit. That's about as much weight as 10 school buses.

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What Is a Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle?

Heavy lift launch vehicles can also lift large satellites into higher orbits. These higher orbits can offer special benefits. For example, a satellite around 22,000 miles from the surface of Earth can be in geostationary orbit. In that orbit, the satellite orbits Earth once per day. As a result, it stays over the same point on Earth's surface. This is useful for communications satellites.

Heavy lift launch vehicles can also be used for missions to other worlds. The Saturn V rocket made it possible for people to land on the moon. That rocket could launch about 50 tons to the moon. That's about the same as four school buses. If humans are going to explore other worlds, a heavy lift launch vehicle could be used to make that possible.

What Does the Future Hold for Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles?NASA has a new plan for the future of space exploration. The new plan will eventually lead to human exploration of Mars. Many steps will be needed in order to get there. New technologies will have to be developed. NASA is working on a new Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle. The new vehicle will use many things NASA has learned about rockets. It will also use brand new technologies. Engineers are working to figure out the best way to prepare to explore the solar system.

NASA

Heavy lift launch vehicles could someday let humans explore Mars.

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What Is Juno?

What Is Juno?This text is from the "NASA Knows!" series from NASA.

NASA

Juno is a spinning, solar-powered spacecraft. Spinning helps to keep the spacecraft stable.

Juno is a NASA spacecraft that is orbiting Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. Juno launched in 2011 and arrived at Jupiter in 2016.

The spacecraft's name comes from Roman mythology. According to the myth, the god Jupiter would hide behind clouds. But his wife, the goddess Juno, could see through them. As in the story, the planet Jupiter is covered with clouds. And the spacecraft Juno is looking behind the clouds to help NASA learn what the giant planet is like.

How Will Juno Study Jupiter?

The Juno spacecraft launched aboard an Atlas V (Roman numeral for "5") rocket Aug. 5, 2011. Juno arrived at Jupiter July 4, 2016. Juno did not land on the planet.

Juno is an orbiter. Orbiters fly around, or orbit, other bodies in space to study them. Orbiters circle above the atmosphere of planets. Juno will be in polar orbit for about 20 months. Juno's first orbit lasts 53.5 days. This long orbit allows the spacecraft to slow down and be captured in the planet's gravity. Then Juno begins its 14-

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What Is Juno?

NASA

Juno will study the bright auroras at Jupiter's poles.

day science orbits. During the science orbits, all of the spacecraft's science instruments are on, and Juno is capturing data. Juno will orbit Jupiter 37 times, coming within 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles) of the tops of the planet's clouds. At the end of its 37th revolution around the planet, the orbiter will deorbit. The spacecraft will dive into Jupiter's atmosphere and burn up.

Science instruments on board Juno study Jupiter's atmosphere, magnetic field and gravitational field. The magnetic field is the area of magnetic force around a planet. The gravitational field is the force field of gravity around a planet. Juno is taking the first pictures of Jupiter's polar regions and studying the huge auroras that light up Jupiter's north and south poles.

Juno is measuring the amount of water and ammonia in Jupiter's atmosphere to help scientists learn how giant planets formed. Juno is studying Jupiter's atmosphere under the clouds to find what Jupiter is made of. By mapping Jupiter's gravitational and magnetic fields, Juno can determine the mass of Jupiter's core. And Juno will sample the electrons and ions in Jupiter's magnetosphere to understand why the planet has the brightest auroras in the solar system.0

Juno has three very large solar panels that collect energy from the sun to power the spacecraft. The solar panels extend outward from Juno's six-sided body. The solar arrays measure approximately 2.65 meters wide by 8.9 meters long (about 9 feet wide by 29 feet long). The spacecraft and solar wings together span more than 20 meters (66 feet). In orbit, the three arrays generate about 450 watts of electricity, which is about the same amount of electricity it takes to operate a computer.

NASA

Three LEGO figures representing the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and the astronomer Galileo Galilei are aboard the Juno spacecraft.

Why Is NASA Studying Jupiter?ReadWorks.org

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What Is Juno?

The goal of the Juno mission is to help scientists better understand how Jupiter and other planets began and have changed over time. NASA is always trying to understand the world around us -- Earth, the solar system and the universe beyond.

Jupiter is a type of planet called a "gas giant." Like the sun, Jupiter does not have a solid surface and is mostly hydrogen and helium. Because Jupiter is made of these gases, NASA knows that Jupiter must be formed from the sun's leftovers. Because Jupiter is so massive, it still has its original composition and has not changed as much over time as the smaller planets.

By studying Jupiter's composition, NASA can better understand the history and composition of the solar system. With its 53 named moons plus 14 moons that don't have official names, Jupiter is like a star in a mini solar system. Besides learning more about our solar system, NASA may also learn more about the planetary systems around distant stars. Hidden beneath Jupiter's dense clouds are the mysteries that NASA and Juno hope to uncover.

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What Is Orion?

What Is Orion?This text is from the "NASA Knows!" series from NASA.

NASA

NASA's Orion spacecraft flew around Earth two times on a test flight.

Orion ("o-rie-un") is a new NASA spacecraft for astronauts. The spacecraft will play an important part in NASA's journey to Mars. Orion will carry astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before.

What Will Orion Do?Orion will carry astronauts into deep space and then return them home to Earth. Orion will be able to travel to an asteroid or even Mars.

NASA is developing a huge rocket called the Space Launch System, or SLS. This rocket is a heavy-lift launch vehicle. Orion will launch on top of this rocket. The heavy-lift launch vehicle will carry Orion beyond low Earth orbit, where the International Space Station orbits, and far past the moon.

Orion has three main parts. The upper section is the launch abort system, or LAS; the crew module is the middle part; and the service module is the lower portion of the spacecraft. Astronauts will sit in the middle section, the crew module. This will be their living quarters. If an emergency occurs during launch or the climb to orbit, the LAS would activate in milliseconds. It would propel the crew module away from the rocket to safety. The LAS looks like a tower on top of the crew module. Beneath the crew module is the service module. It holds the power and propulsion systems. Solar array panels on the service module will absorb sunlight to create electricity. This power will allow the spacecraft to remain in orbit for months at a time.

How Was Orion Designed?

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What Is Orion?

NASA uses new technology and lessons learned from other missions to build new spacecraft. The Orion spacecraft is similar to NASA's Apollo capsule. Apollo was the space program that carried astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s.The shape of Orion looks like the Apollo capsule, but the new vehicle is bigger. Instead of the three-person Apollo crew, Orion will carry up to six astronauts.

When returning from deep space, a spacecraft re-enters Earth's atmosphere at a very high speed with high temperatures. A new heat shield will keep the astronauts safe as the crew module returns home. Orion will land in the ocean when it returns with its crew. NASA used lessons learned from Apollo and space shuttle parachutes to design the new Orion parachutes. The updated parachutes will help Orion land safely in water as the vehicle returns from deep space. Orion will use modern technology in many other areas, such as computers, electronics, life-support systems and propulsion systems.

NASA

Orion is made of three main sections. From the left: (1) The service module, from the European Space Agency, fuels and propels the spacecraft. (2) The crew module is the habitat for up to six astronauts. (3) The Launch Abort System jettisons away after Orion reaches

orbit.

Why Doesn't NASA Use the Space Shuttle?The space shuttle was an amazing spacecraft that served NASA for 30 years. From 1981-2011, the space shuttle flew 135 missions. The shuttle carried satellites to orbit; transported parts, cargo and crew to build the International Space Station; and helped NASA learn about living and working in space.

However, the space shuttle was not designed to travel beyond low Earth orbit. And it could not stay in space for much more than two weeks at a time. When a spacecraft returns from a deep space mission, it will return at high speeds. The space shuttle was not built to resist the high temperatures of a high-speed return.

Orion's First FlightReadWorks.org

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What Is Orion?

Before a spacecraft can fly on a mission, NASA must test it to make sure that it will do the job well and work safely. So Orion had its first flight test on Dec. 5, 2014 -- without a crew. Launched from Florida on a rocket called a Delta IV (4) Heavy, the test vehicle flew two orbits around Earth. The flight lasted 4.5 hours. Orion reached an altitude of 3,600 miles above Earth (15 times higher than the International Space Station). The test vehicle hit speeds of 20,000 mph and temperatures approaching 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it entered Earth's atmosphere. The test vehicle splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near California.

This first flight tested many parts of Orion. NASA tested Orion's computers, systems, and sensors. The launch abort system and the fairings, which covered the service module, fell away from the spacecraft as planned. The spacecraft passed through high levels of harmful radiation. But shielding protected Orion, so the radiation did not have a negative effect on the spacecraft systems. When Orion re-entered Earth's atmosphere, it traveled at 20,000 mph. The fast-moving spacecraft pushed away and heated the air particles that surrounded it. The temperature around the spacecraft reached 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat shield withstood the temperatures that were almost twice as hot as molten lava. And NASA tested large parachutes that successfully slowed Orion down when it returned to Earth at high speeds.

What's Next for Orion?The flight test of the Orion spacecraft was an important step in NASA's journey to Mars. When the new SLS rocket is finished, NASA will test Orion with it. No crew will ride on this flight either. This mission is called Exploration Mission-1 and will last about 25 days. Orion will make a large orbit around the moon. The spacecraft will go farther into space than people have traveled before. After Orion is tested on this mission, it will soon be time for the spacecraft to transport humans. Exploration Mission-2 will travel the same path as Exploration Mission-1, but this time with a crew! Then, in the 2020s, Orion will carry astronauts to an asteroid. In the 2030s, NASA's goal is for Orion to carry the first human explorers to Mars, the Red Planet!

NASA

On December 5, 2014, the Orion spacecraft launched into space and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. The Navy ship in the background picked the capsule up after its safe landing.

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What Is the Soyuz Spacecraft?

What Is the Soyuz Spacecraft?This text is from the "NASA Knows!" series from NASA.

What Is the Soyuz?

NASA

The Soyuz is a Russian spacecraft.

The Soyuz (SAW-yooz) is a Russian spacecraft. Astronauts and cosmonauts travel to the International Space Station on the Soyuz. The Soyuz launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It is located in Kazakhstan, a country on Russia's southern border.

What Can the Soyuz Do?The Soyuz transports crews to the International Space Station and returns them to Earth after their missions. The crew rides in the part of the spacecraft called a capsule. Up to three astronauts or cosmonauts can ride in a Soyuz capsule.

The Soyuz is like a lifeboat for the space station. At least one Soyuz is always docked at the space station. If there is an emergency, the station crew can use the Soyuz to return to Earth.

What Are the Parts of the Soyuz?

NASA

The space station's Expedition 25 crew sits inside the Soyuz Descent Module. They are getting ready to

return to Earth.

The Soyuz capsule is made up of three main parts. They are the Orbital Module, the Descent Module and the Instrumentation/Propulsion Module.

The crew uses the Orbital Module as a living space while they are in orbit. It has about as much room inside as a large van. The Orbital Module has a docking hatch that can connect to the space station.

The Descent Module is where the crew sits during launch and landing. The controls for the spacecraft are in this section of the Soyuz.

The Instrumentation/Propulsion Module is home to the life support systems, batteries, solar panels and steering engines for the spacecraft.

How Does the Soyuz Launch and Land?ReadWorks.org

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What Is the Soyuz Spacecraft?

NASA

The Soyuz spacecraft launches from the country of Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz capsule launches on top of a Soyuz rocket. The crew enters the spacecraft about two hours and 30 minutes before launch.

When the Soyuz is taking a crew to the International Space Station, the spacecraft can take six hours to catch up with the space station as it orbits Earth. Docking to the station is automated. This means the crew does not have to steer Soyuz to the station.

The station crew returns to Earth on a Soyuz spacecraft. On the return trip, only the Descent Module lands. The other two modules are ejected. They burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

Just 15 minutes before landing, four parachutes deploy to slow the spacecraft.

NASA

The Soyuz spacecraft uses parachutes and rocket engines to slow down before landing.

First, two pilot parachutes open. Then a drogue (pronounced drohg) parachute deploys on the second pilot chute. This drogue parachute is larger and slows the spacecraft's speed from 230 meters per second (755 feet per second) to 80 meters per second (262 feet per second).

Finally, the fourth and main parachute deploys. The main parachute is 40 times larger than the drogue chute. The main chute changes the angle of the Soyuz capsule to decrease the amount of heat around the vehicle as it travels through Earth's atmosphere. Then the angle changes again so that the capsule is upright. The main chute slows the vehicle to 7.3 meters per second (24 feet per second).

But this speed is still too fast for landing. Unlike the U.S. space shuttle, which flew until 2011, the Soyuz does not have wheels and does not land like an airplane. One second before landing, two sets of small engines fire on the bottom of the spacecraft. These engines slow the spacecraft even more to try to keep its landing from being too rough. But it is still a hard landing.

The Soyuz lands somewhere within a selected 40-kilometer (25-mile) area in the grassy plains of Kazakhstan.

The return trip on the Soyuz only takes 3 1/2 hours from space station to Kazakhstan!

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What Is a Rocket?

What Is a Rocket?This text is from the "NASA Knows!" series from NASA.

NASA

NASA's Saturn V rocket carried humans to the moon.

When most people think of a rocket, they think of a tall round vehicle that flies into space. But the word "rocket" can mean two different things. The word can describe a type of engine. The word rocket also is used to talk about a vehicle that uses a rocket engine.

How Does a Rocket Engine Work?Like many other engines, a rocket produces thrust by burning fuel. Most rocket engines turn the fuel into hot gas. Pushing the gas out of the back of the engine makes the rocket move forward.

A rocket is different from a jet engine. A jet engine requires oxygen from the air to work. A rocket engine carries everything it needs. That is why a rocket engine works in space, where there is no air.

There are two main types of rocket engines. Some rockets use liquid fuel. The main engines on the

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What Is a Rocket?

space shuttle orbiter use liquid fuel. The Russian Soyuz uses liquid fuels. Other rockets use solid fuels. On the side of the space shuttle are two white solid rocket boosters. They use solid fuels. Fireworks and model rockets also fly using solid fuels.

Why Does a Rocket Work?

NASA

Robert Goddard built the first liquid-fuel rocket.

In the vacuum of space, an engine has nothing to push against. So how do rockets move there? Rockets work by a scientific rule called Newton's third law of motion. English scientist Sir Isaac Newton listed three Laws of Motion more than 300 years ago. The third law says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the rocket pushes out its exhaust, the exhaust also pushes the rocket. The rocket pushes the exhaust backward. The exhaust makes the rocket move forward. This rule can be seen on Earth. If a person stands on a skateboard and throws a bowling ball, the person and the ball will move in opposite directions. Because the person is heavier, the bowling ball will move farther.

When Were Rockets Invented?The first known rockets were used in China in the 1200s. These solid rockets were used for fireworks. They also were used by armies for war. In the 1300s, these rockets were used for the same purposes through much of Asia and Europe. In the next 600 years, people developed bigger and better solid rockets. Many of these were used by the military.

In 1903, a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky wrote a paper describing the idea of liquid-fuel rockets. In 1926, American scientist Robert Goddard flew the first liquid-fuel rocket. German scientists led by Hermann Oberth improved liquid-fuel rockets. During World War II, Germany used rockets to bomb other countries. In 1957, the Soviet Union used a rocket to launch the first satellite. In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin rode in a rocket to become the first person in space. In 1969, the United States launched the first men to land on the moon - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - using a Saturn V rocket.

How Does NASA Use Rockets?

Early NASA missions used rockets built by the military. Alan Shepard became the first American in space flying on the U.S. Army's Redstone rocket. The Atlas missile

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What Is a Rocket?

NASA

The Falcon 9 rocket carries supplies to the space station.

was used to make John Glenn the first American to orbit Earth. NASA's Gemini missions used the Titan II missile to launch astronauts. The first rockets NASA built to launch astronauts were the Saturn I, the Saturn IB and the Saturn V. Apollo missions used these to send men to the moon. A Saturn V launched the Skylab space station. The space shuttle also uses rocket engines to carry astronauts into space. NASA uses rockets to launch satellites and to send probes to other worlds. These rockets include the Atlas V, the Delta II, the Pegasus and Taurus. NASA also uses smaller "sounding rockets" for scientific research. These rockets go up and come back down, instead of flying into orbit.

How Will NASA Use Rockets in the Future?New rockets are being developed today that will launch astronauts on future missions. Compared to the space shuttle, these rockets will look more like earlier rockets - tall and round and thin. These rockets will take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. NASA also is working on a powerful new rocket called a heavy lift vehicle. This rocket will be able to carry large amounts of equipment into space. Together, the heavy lift vehicle and other rockets will make it possible to explore other worlds and may someday send humans to Mars.

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What Is the International Space Station?

What Is the International Space Station?This text is from the "NASA Knows!" series from NASA.

NASA

The space station is one of the brightest objects in the sky.

The International Space Station is a large spacecraft in orbit around Earth. It serves as a home where crews of astronauts and cosmonauts live. The space station is also a unique science laboratory. Several nations worked together to build and use the space station. The space station is made of parts that were assembled in space by astronauts. It orbits Earth at an average altitude of 220 miles. It travels at 17,500 mph. This means it orbits Earth every 90 minutes. NASA is using the space station to learn more about living and working in space. These lessons will make it possible to send humans farther into space than ever before.

How Old Is the Space Station?

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What Is the International Space Station?

NASA

Pictured here are members of the 17th crew to live aboard the space station.

The first piece of the International Space Station was launched in November 1998. A Russian rocket launched the Russian Zarya (zar EE uh) control module. About two weeks later, the space shuttle Endeavour met Zarya in orbit. The space shuttle was carrying the U.S. Unity node. The crew attached the Unity node to Zarya. More pieces were added over the next two years before the station was ready for people to live there. The first crew arrived on November 2, 2000. People have lived on the space station ever since.

More pieces have been added over time. NASA and its partners from around the world completed construction of the space station in 2011.

How Big Is the Space Station?The space station has the volume of a five-bedroom house or two Boeing 747 jetliners. It is able to support a crew of six people, plus visitors. On Earth, the space station would weigh almost a million pounds. Measured from the edges of its solar arrays, the station covers the area of a football field including the end zones. It includes laboratory modules from the United States, Russia, Japan and Europe.

What Are the Parts of the Space Station?

NASA

Astronauts work in spacesuits to help build the space station.

In addition to the laboratories where astronauts conduct science research, the space station has many other parts. The first Russian modules included basic systems needed for the space station to function. They also provided living areas for crew members. Modules called "nodes" connect parts of the station to each other.

Stretching out to the sides of the space station are the solar arrays. These arrays collect energy from the sun to provide electrical power. The arrays are connected to the station with a long truss. On the truss are radiators that control the space station's temperature.

Robotic arms are mounted outside the space station. The robot arms were used to help build the space station. Those arms also can move astronauts around when they go on spacewalks outside. Other arms operate science experiments.

Astronauts can go on spacewalks through airlocks that open to the outside. Docking ports allow other spacecraft to connect to the space station. New crews and visitors arrive through the ports. Astronauts fly to the space station on the Russian Soyuz. Robotic spacecraft use the docking ports to

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What Is the International Space Station?

deliver supplies.

Why Is the Space Station Important?The space station has made it possible for people to have an ongoing presence in space. Human beings have been living in space every day since the first crew arrived. The space station's laboratories allow crew members to do research that could not be done anywhere else. This scientific research benefits people on Earth. Space research is even used in everyday life. The results are products called "spinoffs." Scientists also study what happens to the body when people live in microgravity for a long time. NASA and its partners have learned how to keep a spacecraft working well. All of these lessons will be important for future space exploration.

NASA currently is working on a plan to explore other worlds. The space station is one of the first steps. NASA will use lessons learned on the space station to prepare for human missions that reach farther into space than ever before.

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