SPACE SHUTTLES AND ADVANCEMENT

THE SPACE SHUTTLE

Shuttle Orbiter

The Space Shuttle

Primary objective is to improve access to space

First flight was April 1981 with astronauts Young and Crippen

Has flown approximately 100 missions carrying 1.5 million pounds of cargo and over 600 major payloads

Discovery lifts off at the start of STS-120.

The Space Shuttle

World’s first and only reusable space vehicle Can transport people, materials, equipment

and spacecraft into orbit Also used to service and repair satellites and

observatories and to conduct medical and scientific experiments

STS-129 ready for launch

THE EXTERNAL TANK OR ET SPACE SHUTTLES MAIN ENGINE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS OR SRBs ORBITAL VEHICLE

Space Shuttle Components

Orbiter-can carry up to 7 astronauts and the payload in its 60-foot long cargo bay (Atlantis, Discovery & Endeavour)

External tank (154 feet) which stores nearly half million pounds of liquid oxygen and hydrogen

Solid rocket boosters which generate nearly 6 million pounds of thrust; jettisoned 2 minutes into flight.

THE EXTERNAL TANK:

The main function of the Space Shuttle external tank was to supply the liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel to the main engines.

It was also the backbone of the launch vehicle, providing attachment points for the two solid rocket boosters and the orbiter.

The external tank was the only part of the Shuttle system that was not reused.

Anatomy of the External Tank

A Space Shuttle External Tank (ET)on its way to the Vehicle Assembly Building.

MAIN ENGINES:

The Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine

Built in the United States by Rocketdyne, the RS-25 burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen & liquid oxygen propellants, with each engine producing 1,859 kN (418,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff.

ENGINE COMPONENTS:

The Engine consists of various pumps, valves and other components which work in concert to produce thrust.

Developed in the 1970s by the Marshall Space Flight Center, the space shuttle main engine was the world's most sophisticated reusable rocket engine.

The space shuttle's three main engines operated for 8 minutes and 40 seconds for each shuttle flight, with a combined output of 37 million horsepower. At their full power, that was equivalent to the output of 13 Hoover Dams.

Space shuttle main engines operated at greater temperature extremes than any mechanical system in common use

Space Shuttle Main Engine Schematic Diagram

The combined pumping capacity of all three space shuttle main engine turbopumps could drain an average-sized swimming pool in 28 seconds.

The combustion chamber reached +6,000 degrees F. -- hotter than the boiling point of iron.

Space Shuttle Main Engine test firing.

Each main engine was 14 feet long, weighed approximately 7,000 pounds and was 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of its nozzle.

The engine produces a specific impulse (Isp) of 452 seconds (4.43 km/s) in a vacuum, or 366 seconds (3.59 km/s) at sea level, has a mass of approximately 3.5 tonnes (7,700 pounds), and is capable of throttling between 67% and 109% of its rated power level in one-percent increments

A Block II RS-25D Main Engine Controller

Each engine is equipped with a Main Engine Controller (MEC), an integrated computer which controls all of the engine's functions (through the use of valves) and monitors its performance. Built by Honeywell Aerospace, each MEC originally comprised two redundant Honeywell HDC-601 computers,[11] later upgraded to a system composed of two doubly redundant Motorola 68000 (M68000) processors (for a total of 4 M68000s per controller).

Main combustion chamber Each engine main combustion chamber (MCC) receives fuel-rich hot gas from a hot-gas manifold cooling circuit. The gaseous hydrogen and liquid oxygen enter the chamber at the injector, which mixes the propellants. A small augmented-spark igniter-chamber is located in the center of the injector, and this dual-redundant igniter is used during the engine start sequence to initiate combustion.

Nozzle

The engine's nozzle is 121 in (3.1 m) long with a diameter of 10.3 in (0.26 m) at its throat and 90.7 in (2.30 m) at its exit. The nozzle is a bell-shaped extension bolted to the main combustion chamber, referred to as a de Laval nozzle. The RS-25 nozzle has an unusually large expansion ratio (about 77.5:1) for the chamber pressure.

The nozzles of Space Shuttle Columbia's three RS-25s following the landing ofSTS-93.

SSME TEST FIRING:

RS-25 testing at Stennis Space Center.

ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS :{ For RS-25 }

Manufacturer : RocketdyneAssociated L/V : Space Shuttle

Space Launch SystemPredecessor : HG-3Status : Inactive since STS-135

Liquid-fuel enginePropellant : Liquid oxygen / Liquid hydrogenCycle : Staged combustion

Nozzle ratio: 69:1 Thrust (vac.) : 512,300 lbf (2,279 kN)Thrust (SL) : 418,000 lbf (1,860 kN)Chamber pressure : 2,994 psi (20.64 MPa)Isp (vac.) : 452.3 seconds (4.436 km/s)

Isp (SL) : 366 seconds (3.59 km/s)

Length : 168 inches (4.3 m)Diameter : 96 inches (2.4 m)

 Schematic diagram

Shuttle Missions

Astronomy and Microgravity Science Astrophysics and Planetary Science Atmospheric Science Communications Geophysics and Solar Physics Life Science Research National Security

Space Shuttle Mission Profile

ADVANCEMENTS

FMOF (First Manned Orbital Flight) – Certified for 100% Rated Power Level (RPL). Used for the Orbital Flight Test missions STS-1—STS-5 .

Phase I – Used for missions STS-6—STS-51-L, the Phase I engine offered increased service life and was certified for 104% RPL.

Phase II (RS-25A) – First flown on STS-26, the Phase II engine offered a number of safety upgrades and was certified for 104% RPL & 109% Full Power Level (FPL) in the event of a contingency.

Spaceship of the Future – Concept Design

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