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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What are the movable-plastic-bag-looking things on the nose of Shuttle?
I was watching the last launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-132) and noticed some objects that moved during the launch. I was curious about what these objects were and why they were positioned that ...
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Mobile Launcher Design
When looking at the Apollo and space shuttle mobile launch platforms side by side, I noticed that the exhaust ports look different and judging by the internal structure of the platform, it seems that ...
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What is the purpose of the aft skirt on the Space Shuttle and SLS Solid Rocket Boosters?
The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) used by the Space Shuttle and SLS have a skirt near the bottom.
What is it for? Is it only to support the stack?
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Was there any truth that the Columbia Shuttle Disaster had a contribution from wrong angle of entry?
The principal of my tiny school in Japan was presenting to a student to suggest he make a speech on the Space Shuttle's reentry aspects.
He included newspaper articles on the Columbia space disaster.
...
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How much did the duralumin structure of the Shuttle weigh?
I am trying to understand the benefit of a Shuttle type "cold structure" Vs a Starship type structure. Google tells me that the Shuttle TPS weighed 8,574.4kg, and the duralumin has a 50-80% ...
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How was the external tank emptied in a TAL shuttle abort?
One of the numerous reasons RTLS was the least preferred choice is
For a safe separation, the ET must contain a maximum of 2% propellant remaining at Main Engine Cutoff (MECO).
How would TAL do away ...
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ROFI Temperature
Since hydrogen-fueled rockets usually require Radial Outward Firing Igniters (ROFI), what is the temperature of the sparks from this system? When seen at RS-25/RS-68 ignition, they don't melt but ...
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Space Shuttle Hammerhead Cranes Status
From the beginning of the the shuttle program up until the mid 1990's, both LC-39 launchpads had a hammerhead crane atop of the Fixed Service Structure which was leftover from the Apollo program. What ...
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How did STS-27 survive reentry after losing a thermal tile?
My buddies and I have been arguing about this for a while, speculating about the upcoming Starship test.
STS-27 suffered damage on ascent that knocked off a tile & damaged hundreds more. It only ...
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What was the most inconsequential failure on an STS mission recorded in mission reports?
Posting a comment over on this question got me thinking as to how insignificant (or not) recorded failures on the Space Shuttle could actually get.
For example browsing the STS-001 Postflight Mission ...
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After the Challenger disaster, the Fixed Service Structures on pads 39A & B had a new structure on the FSS. What is it?
After the space shuttle Challenger disaster, the Fixed Service Structure was modified with a panel next to the Centaur porch, what was its purpose on the launch tower?
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What outdated components of Columbia made it heavier than the other Space Shuttles?
Being the first space-rated orbiter produced, Space Shuttle Columbia was the heaviest and therefore rarely selected for high inclination trajectories like the ISS near the end of the program.
Which ...
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Would the Space Shuttle have been able to carry the Hubble Space Telescope back to Earth had it been necessary?
The development of the Space Shuttle (STS) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) were running in parallel during the 1970s and 1980s. Both plans for STS and HST were announced in the late 1960 and both ...
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Do Space Shuttle cargo doors carry structural airframe loads, like the lid of a shoebox?
Airframes are usually designed for semi-Monocoque construction. The skin carries the primary stresses to keep the fuselage rigid.
https://www.abbottaerospace.com/aa-sb-001/22-aircraft-specific-design-...
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Do astronauts use plumber's bifocals?
Adults steadily loose the ability to see close-up (presbyopia). By the mid-40's, most people have surrendered to the inevitable and switched to bifocals. These provide closer focus when looking down (...
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SLS SRB sound suppression system
The Shuttle, in addition to the water deluge system, used a series of red nylon bags filled with water at the base of each SRB for additional sound suppression. Does the SLS, whose boosters produce ~...
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What is this tube in the Space Shuttle Orbiter?
I found this picture of the left panel of the Orbiter:
What is the function of that small detachable tube?
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Shuttle emergency landing location question
There are lists of airports identified as emergency landing locations, many on the east coast. Some are military, some are public airports.
Has anyone ever seen procedures on how this would be ...
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What were the most impactful non-fatal failures on STS missions?
Which failures on STS missions were the most impactful?
Please exclude the o-ring issue on STS-51-L, as well as the tile damage caused by insulative ET foam on STS-107.
Unrelated failures that ...
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Which STS mission had the most accidents or failures?
This question was prompted by articles mentioning that a majority of Space Shuttle launches had scrubbed launches.
Which STS mission had the largest amount of accidents and/or failures?
If relevant, ...
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What are these wires visible in Space Shuttle ODS/APAS-95?
What are these three wires connected in a y-shape called and what is their role? Some sort of alignment guide? Sorry for the hard to see picture.
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How did Space Shuttles get off the NASA Crawler?
The crawler is what transports Shuttles and rockets from the rocket assembly building to launch pad.
When the crawler reaches the launch pad, how is the Shuttle transferred from the crawler to the pad?...
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The Space Debris Problem: Can a shuttle-style spaceplane even make a dent in it? [closed]
I'm a bit of a shuttle geek. Ask me what my favorite spaceplane is, I'll say the space shuttle! (Specifically, Discovery, since it launched my favorite telescope, Hubble!) While the shuttles ...
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Why were they using segmented boosters on Space Shuttle?
After learning how the solid fuel is protecting the casing of the SRB from the heat of the combustion in this answer I have to ask this question.
As we know, it's exactly this segmentation of the ...
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Will SLS be launched as often as the space shuttle was?
Again, I did some research, and again, the results aren't that impressive.
I was able to find that SLS is to become the " successor to the retired Space Shuttle, and the primary launch vehicle of ...
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Analogue Camera Olympus OM-1 in space?
Was analogue 35 mm camera Olympus OM-1 really in space? I read this article about this topic: http://elrectanguloenlamano.blogspot.com/2016/06/olympus-om-1-nasa-recognition-of.html?m=1
According to ...
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Why did the space shuttle tank look like a big orange banana [closed]
Why did the space shuttle's external fuel tank look like a big orange banana? Why that design, and how come no one makes fun of it (Other than me right now heh heh)? While we're on the subject, what'...
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What is the difference between the solid fuel Boosters of the Shuttle and Artemis?
The Shuttle boosters had 4 segments and Artemis has 5. What are the differences in total mass, thrust and burn time? Is the thrust profile (thrust over time) the same?
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Why, on each side of Shuttle, are there 2 Helium tanks for RCS and only 1 Helium Tank for OMS
I’m trying to write a book on my experiences on working on the Shuttle BFS SW. I’ve looked all over the web and every diagram on an OMS/RCS pod shows the 2 fuel tanks for each, OMS and RCS. What seems ...
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What are the "disks" seen on the walls of some NASA space shuttles?
I'm deep-dive researching older NASA shuttles, and a few elements in this image of a toilet (which could be found on display at JSC in the early aughts) stood out to me. See the red circles I added to ...
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What is the orange material seen within the window frames of the Columbia Shuttle?
I'm seeing this orange material within the windows of Columbia shuttles -- any thoughts on its precise function? The ISS's Cupola also contains similar international orange bands, though they seem ...
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What kind of "safe" was carried on the Space Shuttles?
This Smithsonian/Air & Space Magazine article about the secret/classified Space Shuttle missions contains this anecdote:
On the seventh day of the mission, Mattingly and pilot Hank Hartsfield ...
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Material defects and its testing for manufacturing of parts
Is there any literature report on what is the level of testing at NASA on the defect sizes in raw material for manufacturing of parts for space shuttle and other space vehicles? For example, what is ...
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Pressure and Leak Testing of Rockets
For any pressure vessel, hydrostatic/pneumatic pressure testing and helium leak testing are carried out as per UG-99/UG-100 and ASME, Section V, Article 10, respectively. For a rocket, what are the ...
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What is the difference between a space plane and a space shuttle?
What is the difference between a space plane and a space shuttle? It seems that they both look similar and also have a similar purpose. But what is the true difference?
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How to design Heading Alignment Cone(HAC)?
I am trying to design a Heading Alignment Cone. Of course, the radius of the circle depends on different parameters like energy, altitude, and aerothermal characteristics of the reentry vehicle and ...
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Could the Space Shuttle launch with two engines?
In a movie, they need to launch the Space Shuttle, but one engine is not ready to go in time, so they decide to launch with the booster and two of the shuttle's engines - Could the shuttle Launch with ...
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What is the time sequence for SRB burn-out and separation?
I understand that SRBs cannot be throttled or shut down, they need to "burn out". Since they are often used in pairs, I assume there is a statistical spread in the burn duration of the two ...
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Two-Stage Fully-Reusable Shuttle
In chapter 6 of SP-4221 "The Space Shuttle Decision" they are talking about the fall of the "Two-Stage Fully Reusable Shuttle".
In one paragraph they talk about how this Two-Stage ...
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What did the "R" in e.g. STS-32R stand for?
This site already has a couple of good answers explaining that, after NASA returned to sequentially numbering Space Shuttle missions following STS-51-L, some flights were internally written with an R ...
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What if both SRBs failed in a shuttle launch?
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's the highest latitude for a human spaceflight?
There are obviously many satellites in polar orbits or in orbits that extend to very high latitudes. There are obvious reasons to do this in terms of Earth observations, but there is probabably much ...
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How did pages of Ramon's diary survive the Columbia disaster?
In early 2003, the space shuttle Columbia burnt up due to a failed leading edge on the wing from an external tank foam strike. All seven astronauts were killed. Yet, some pages of Ilan Ramon's diary, ...
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Does anybody have a contact for the Docents for the Space Shuttles? [closed]
I would like to pass along the following information to the Docents for Enterprise (Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York) and Endeavour (Los Angeles Science Center). Documents describing ...
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Why the Space Shuttle electrical system is so complex?
This is me, having too much free time and deciding to learn how the electrical system of the Space Shuttle worked. So, because I couldn't find any "easy to read" diagram online, I built a ...
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Why isn't NASA planning on saving some of the RS-25Ds due to their historical significance?
A while ago, Scott Manley made a video about the Artemis program and how NASA will expend all its Block II RS-25D engines through the SLS's first four launches. Why isn't NASA planning on putting some ...
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Why was it necessary to monitor the water quantity in the space shuttle?
In space shuttle's operators manual, Page(4.1-4), it is written as:
The H2O quantity is determined by a PVT calculation based on H2O tank pressure and
temperature transducer readings as well as GN2 ...
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Could fuel cells of the Space Shuttles have been restarted in the case of a total power failure?
Reading the flight crew operating manual of the Space Shuttle I discovered that:
The three fuel cells could have been stopped and restarted (unlike previous Apollo missions)
The fuel cell start ...
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Did any Columbia debris continue orbiting Earth?
For reentry the Space Shuttles lowered their perigee to 28 nautical miles (52 km) above sea level. Shuttle Columbia disintegrated around 60 km altitude, and the first debris fell off as high as 70.5 ...
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Heatshield during re-entry of space vehicles
All the CMs for Apollo, as well as the space shuttles, basically used "Blunt body" technique for re-entry. While Apollo CMs used "ablative" type of heatshield, the space shuttles ...
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