Questions tagged [space-shuttle]
The Space Shuttle was a crewed, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft operated by NASA from 1981 to 2011.
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Are there any photo(s) of International Space Station (ISS) captured from above its altitude? [duplicate]
Are there any attempts made to capture an image of the whole ISS in one take? Or is it not currently practically possible? If Soyuz, SpaceX Dragon, etc. have cameras installed on them, images can be ...
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What is the limit to which we can scale up uniformly in all directions Space Shuttle SRB before it becomes unable to take off?
Let's say we like the Space Shuttle design so much, we want to use it as a reference for our new rocket. But we want to build rocket which will be capable of launching larger payload into Earth's ...
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Why so many STS-61's?
Wikipedia's STS-61 says that it is not to be confused with STS-61A, STS-61B or STS-61C.
Why were there so many STS missions where the name included the number "61"?
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What are “applied moments of inertia” in the context of STS-61B's EASE/ACCESS?
This answer links to https://history.nasa.gov/spacesuits.pdf which shows the image below. (fyi Wikipedia's STS-61 is not to be confused with STS-61A, STS-61B or STS-61C, see answers to Why so many STS-...
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Why were the Space Shuttle's main engines placed on the orbiter?
Since the main engines can't be used after external tank separation, what's the reason for having the engines on the orbiter rather than just building a third rocket on the stack instead of the ...
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How much of the printed materials (manuals, instructions etc.) were allocated for the crew's use in Space Shuttles?
Whilst watching youtube video of an occasional Soyuz spacecraft launch (Soyuz ТМА-19М in this case), I've noticed (at 8:07) this large bundle of books.
Another video of TMA-16M flight at 39:40 shows ...
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Where are the lost RS-25D Block 2 engines?
There were 21 RS-25D Block 2 engines made. Two of them never flew. Three of them were lost with the Columbia disaster. 16 of them are tagged for SLS's use, including 14 previously flown, and the two ...
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How many Space Shuttle payloads ended up beyond Earth orbit?
Before I'd read Why did the Ulysses probe reach Jupiter much faster than Galileo? and this answer to What's the largest rocket that was carried to space inside a Space Shuttle? I never really ...
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What's the largest rocket that was carried to space inside a Space Shuttle?
Why did the Ulysses probe reach Jupiter much faster than Galileo? got me wondering about the largest rocket that was carried to space inside a Space Shuttle.
Largest in terms of some performance ...
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What were the differences between the STS Orbiters?
There were six STS orbiter vehicles, of which five were operational for space flight:
OV-099: Space Shuttle Challenger
OV-101: Space Shuttle Enterprise
OV-102: Space Shuttle Columbia
OV-103: Space ...
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Why did the Ulysses probe reach Jupiter much faster than Galileo?
Both Ulysses and Galileo were launched by the Space Shuttle and the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS). Yet Ulysses only took 16 months to reach Jupiter, while Galileo took 6 years. Is it because Galileo ...
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Given unlimited funding and global cooperation, could there have been a manned space craft made in the year 1850-1860? [closed]
All my life, I've been speculating in my head about all kinds of "alternative timelines". One of the most intriguing to me are all the ones that concern space and "steampunk" technology.
Recently, I ...
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First actions taken after identifying a potentially catastrophic decompression?
Organic Marble gave an answer to my question "Procedures if there was a shuttle decompression in the vacuum of space," precisely as I worded the request.
The wording of my question was imprecise so ...
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Procedures if there was a shuttle decompression in the vacuum of space
Has NASA ever published what the space shuttle astronauts would be tasked to do if a potentially catastrophic decompression occurred in space.
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Why was the reusability of the SSMEs so poor, and why was this considered acceptable given their purpose to launch a reusable vehicle?
The Space Shuttle Main Engines operated for around 8.5 minutes in every Shuttle launch, yet were removed from the orbiter after each flight and went through an overhaul, parts often being traded from ...
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What is this large fan in front of the Space Shuttle during Ground Turnaround?
In this amazing video of multiple camera angles of Endeavour landing and post-landing processing, at around the 15:45–15:56 minute mark, we see a large propeller running in front of the Orbiter.
It ...
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Was there really a shuttle toilet training device with a “boresight camera”?
Was there really a shuttle toilet training device with a camera looking up at the user's fundament? This seems a bit undignified to say the least.
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Were there any cases of woodpeckers damaging Shuttle External Tank insulation other than that of STS-70?
While researching information about Shuttle External Tank insulation, I came across this quite unusual problem: woodpeckers!
The Wikipedia entry on STS-70 states that:
... on 31 May 1995 shuttle ...
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What was the primary role of epoxy layer between metal structure and insulation foam on External Tank of Space Shuttle?
Whilst looking for information regarding Shuttle's External Tank insulation, I came across this answer
to this question Structural composition of shuttle liquid fuel tank wall.
The answer states that ...
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Why was the shuttle landing crosswind limit reduced for longer missions
Answering a question about inclement shuttle landings, OrganicMarble quotes from a summary of landing rules:
The peak crosswind cannot exceed 15 knots, 12 knots at night. If the mission duration is ...
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How did the Rotating Service Structure achieve environment control?
The main purpose of the Rotating Service Structure on the Space Shuttle launchpads is to have a clean environment to transfer payloads into the orbiter payload bay:
The major feature of the ...
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Did any of the Space Shuttles land through rain or rainclouds?
My web research resulted in figuring out that launching Space Shuttles in rain, apart from lightning, wind and turbulence related problems, wasn't permitted due to:
brittleness of the heat shield ...
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What was the operational lifetime of a shuttle tile?
The statement "While some of the individual tiles on the shuttle might last 10 missions" from this excellent answer has led a questioner to make the statement "someone here at Space Stack-Exchange ...
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Shuttle main engines RS-25, material damage on parts that needed replacement/refurbishment
Since other members wrote, that my my original question here Shuttle main engines RS-25 refurbishment/material damage was too broad I modified it to asked just one thing, while the other questions I ...
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Shuttle silica ceramics black tiles
Since other members wrote, that my my original question here Shuttle silica ceramics black tiles? was too broad I modified it to asked just one thing, while the other questions I will asked later.
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Does space sickness determine when astronauts have their last meal?
During the shuttle program how long before launch would an astronaut eat? With almost 50% of astronauts experiencing space adaptation syndrome, and the possibility of vomiting, did the astronauts ...
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Shuttle main engines RS-25 refurbishment/material damage
There was some thread here on Space Stack-Exchange about RS-25 refurbishment, but I am interested now, how this refurbishment look from the point of material damage of SSME hardware.
In the early ...
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Shuttle silica ceramics black tiles? [closed]
Shuttle silica ceramics black tiles, were mostly air and so fragile that you can break, crush them with the force of your hands (quote from NASA documentary). They were usually damaged by ice in upper ...
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Shuttle RCC (reinforced carbon-carbon) panels?
Shuttle RCC panels (22 panels together) were used on shuttle wing leading edge, nose cone, 0.25-0.5 inch thick and tough like concrete.
link https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/pdf/167473main_TPS-...
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Why would the Shuttle-Transtage have been unusable for science missions?
In the 1970s and early 1980s, NASA and the DoD evaluated four different existing or proposed upper stages for use with the space shuttle:
The Centaur hydrolox stage (specifically, the Centaur G/G' ...
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Seeing the ground from the shuttle before launch?
With the side windows in space shuttle cockpit, as seen in this photograph,
could the commander and pilot see the ground at all before launch or during the first 10-15 seconds of a shuttle ascent?
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Space Shuttle Stack alignment
The Space Shuttle is a good example of asymmetric launch vehicle. It required heavily-gimballing engines to keep everything balanced.
As a KSP enthusiast, I found that attaching the external tank to ...
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Unusual position of shuttle astronauts' arms during ascent
During the ascent of STS-135 the astronauts seem to be keeping their elbows up away from their sides with their hands forward. It can be seen throughout the ascent, here are two clips when it happens....
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Why did a shuttle astronaut have an open book during ascent?
In the top right of the video of a shuttle launch an astronaut has an open book resting on (attached to?) the left thigh. What was the purpose of this book? The astronaut then seems to take a pen or ...
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Space Shuttle RTLS in 3-engine-out: what does it use for propulsion?
For a three-engine-out abort, there's a couple of great diagrams provided in the answer at https://space.stackexchange.com/a/39733/11532 showing different abort contingencies. One contingency plan is ...
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What (if anything) could have caused all three shuttle main engines to stop at the same time?
From my previous question, you'd have a bad time if it happened. What could cause it to happen, if anything? My parameters are:
The engines must STOP, but not destroy the vehicle simply by having ...
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In a shuttle launch, what would have happened if all three SSMEs failed during flight?
I'm certain there are several flight regimes where this could happen, and that the procedures should be different for each one. For instance, this is a very different question before lift off than it ...
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What was the minimum throttle setting a SSME could be operated at while in Flight?
A very informative article on the RS-25 (SSME) indicates that it could be throttled from 67% to 109%. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Main_Engine) I know on 51L the data indicates the ...
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Where did the Wake Shield Facility end up?
The Wake Shield...
... was deployed in the wake of the Space Shuttle at an orbital altitude
of over 300 kilometers (186 mi), within the thermosphere, where the
atmosphere is exceedingly tenuous....
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Crew Positioning in ISS during Reboost
Several questions address the reboosting procedure for the ISS. When the shuttle reboosted the station, apparently the entire ISS was modeled on the ground and pre-programmed in, down to the masses ...
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How hard was it for the Shuttle to perform attitude control for the entire ISS? Did they have to calibrate?
This answer to the question How was the Space Shuttle Orbiter used for ISS Reboost? describes a procedure I never knew happened. When the shuttle was docked to the ISS it sometimes used its rear ...
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What happens after a crew finishes putting out a fire?
I was reading the question How do we use Fire Extinguishers to Control Fire in the Space Station?
This got me thinking about how the crew would clean-up after a fire. How do they decide if the ...
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How was the Space Shuttle Orbiter used for ISS Reboost?
According to this answer, for the question How often does ISS require re-boosting to higher orbit?,
During Space Shuttle years, small re-boosts were also performed by the Shuttle Orbiters (...
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Was the payload bay of the Space Shuttle depressurized before launch?
We know that the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter carried satellites, pieces of equipment for repairing satellites and components of the International Space Station.
Was the payload bay of ...
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Did the shuttle SRBs have separation motors?
Looking at a NASA fact sheet about the SLS SRBs and I noticed it has at the bottom around the nozzle, separation motors.
Watching shuttle launches It looks to me like the SRBs continue to fire ...
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Radar Altimeter in Space Shuttle
I was going throught the Space Shuttle Handbook, chapter Guidance and Navigation.
In one of the Note boxes, it is written
Radar altimeter altitude is not used for navigation or guidance. The ...
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Why is the Space Shuttle's External Tank fuelled through the Orbiter's main engine plumbing system?
This answer states that Space Shuttle's External Tank (ET) was fuelled (this process is known as Tanking) through the Orbiter's main engine plumbing system with the Tail Service Masts (TSM). One ...
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How was the space shuttle fuelled?
How was the external fuel tank filled with LH2 and LOX while the shuttle was on the launch pad? I know there was a gaseous oxygen umbilical on the top of the ET and a gaseous hydrogen umbilical about ...
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Stars visible during ascent?
Did any shuttle astronaut indicate at what altitude they were first able to see the stars during an ascent to orbit at sunrise?
Yeagar seeing the stars in The Right Stuff. For illustration purposes ...
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Loading tanks for supercritical oxygen and hydrogen on the launch pad, how to achieve low temperature and high pressure?
The Apollo and Shuttle spacecrafts used fuel cells for the production of electric energy and water. The hydrogen and oxygen for the fuel cells were stored as a supercritical fluid at a temperature ...
