Rajan Wilcox
The Space Shuttle Discovery was a retired American Space Shuttle Orbiter that launched and landed 39 times over 27 years of service. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components: the Space Shuttle Orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters. The weight of the Space Shuttle fully fueled is dependent on the weight of the fuel in the central fuel tank and the two rocket boosters. The central fuel tank contained liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, and the rocket boosters used solid fuel.
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What You'll Learn
The Space Shuttle Discovery's weight optimisation
The Space Shuttle Discovery was a retired American Space Shuttle Orbiter and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. It was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program. Discovery was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in 1983 and its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service, it launched and landed 39 times, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft as of December 2024.
The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters. The orbiter could be used in conjunction with a variety of add-on components depending on the mission. This included orbital laboratories, boosters for launching payloads farther into space, the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), and optionally the EDO pallet to extend the mission duration.
Part of the Discovery weight optimisation included the greater use of quilted AFRSI blankets instead of the white LRSI tiles on the fuselage, and the use of graphite epoxy instead of aluminium for the payload bay doors and some of the wing spars and beams. The use of graphite epoxy instead of aluminium for the payload bay doors alone resulted in a weight reduction of 318 kg. Discovery weighed 6870 lb (roughly 3120 kg) less than Columbia when it was brought into service due to optimisations determined during the construction and testing of Enterprise, Columbia, and Challenger.
The Space Shuttle Discovery also underwent a nine-month Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP) in Palmdale, California, beginning in late 1995. During this period, the vehicle was outfitted with a fifth set of cryogenic tanks and an external airlock to support missions to the International Space Station. The orbiter was protected during reentry by its thermal protection system tiles, and it glided as a spaceplane to a runway landing.
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The orbiter's weight and fuel load
The Space Shuttle Discovery was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and was the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters (SRB). The orbiter vehicle (OV) had three clustered Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines, a pair of SRBs, and an expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The orbiter could be used in conjunction with a variety of add-on components depending on the mission.
The SRBs were fired until they burned out, and the SSMEs were run until the external tank was almost dry. The SRBs were still generating a minute amount of thrust when they were dropped, but we can effectively assume 100% fuel usage. The external tank still had a small amount of fuel left when it was dropped, as it was safer to shut down the main engines than to let them run dry. The orbiter's two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines were used to jettison the ET, and the orbiter fired its OMS to deorbit and reenter the atmosphere.
The orbiter vehicle's payload bay comprised most of the fuselage and provided the cargo-carrying space for the Space Shuttle's payloads. It was 18 m (60 ft) long and 4.6 m (15 ft) wide, and could accommodate cylindrical payloads up to 4.6 m (15 ft) in diameter. The payload bay doors served an additional function as radiators for the orbiter vehicle's heat, and were opened upon reaching orbit for heat rejection.
The entire orbiter is about 5.5% of the total mass at ignition, and only a tiny fraction of the orbiter mass is fuel. The orbiter vehicle maneuvers to an upside-down, tail-first orientation and begins a 2–4-minute OMS burn approximately 20 minutes before it reenters the atmosphere. The orbiter vehicle reorients itself to a nose-forward position with a 40-degree angle-of-attack, and the forward reaction control system (RCS) jets are emptied of fuel and disabled prior to reentry.
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SRBs, external tank and orbiter
The Space Shuttle was made up of three main components: the Orbiter Vehicle (OV), a pair of Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and the external tank (ET).
The Orbiter Vehicle, or OV, was the spaceplane that housed the crew and cargo. It was protected by a thermal protection system during re-entry and could be used in conjunction with a variety of add-on components, such as orbital laboratories and boosters. The OV was equipped with three Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines, which used liquid oxygen and hydrogen.
The Solid Rocket Boosters, or SRBs, provided the main thrust during launch, carrying the weight of the external tank and orbiter. They were ignited by firing redundant NSD pressure cartridges and were jettisoned about two minutes after launch. The SRBs were then recovered, examined, refurbished, and reused.
The external tank, or ET, was the largest and heaviest element of the Space Shuttle when loaded. It supplied fuel and oxidizer to the orbiter's engines and provided structural support for attachment to the SRBs and orbiter. The ET was jettisoned just over ten seconds after the main engine cut-off and was not reused.
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Fuel usage during ascent
The Space Shuttle was launched vertically, like a conventional rocket, with two solid rocket boosters (SRB) operating in parallel with the orbiter's three main engines, which were fuelled from the expendable external tank (ET). The SRBs were jettisoned before the vehicle reached orbit, while the main engines continued to operate. The ET was jettisoned after main engine cutoff and just before orbit insertion, which used the orbiter's two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines.
The OMS burn was usually 200-550 ft/s, which is the minimum amount of OMS fuel required. There is also additional OMS fuel needed for manoeuvring during the on-orbit mission. If the total OMS tankage was 1,000 ft/s, then there would be 250-700 ft/s of fuel available for final orbital insertion during ascent.
The Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) used liquid oxygen and hydrogen and had a higher chamber pressure than any previous liquid-fuelled rocket. The engine nozzles could gimbal ±10.5° in pitch and ±8.5° in yaw during ascent to change the direction of their thrust to steer the Shuttle.
The SRBs provided 12,500 kN (2,800,000 lbf) of thrust, which was later improved to 13,300 kN (3,000,000 lbf). They were jettisoned approximately two minutes after launch at an altitude of 46 km (150,000 ft).
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Fuel usage for deorbiting
The Space Shuttle Discovery was a retired American Space Shuttle Orbiter. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, took place from August 30 to September 5, 1984.
The Space Shuttle launch vehicle had three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters (SRB). The orbiter vehicle (OV) had three clustered Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines, a pair of recoverable SRBs, and an expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The SRBs were fired until they burned out, and the SSMEs were run until the external tank was almost dry. The SRBs were still generating a minimal amount of thrust when they were dropped, but one can effectively assume 100% fuel usage.
The orbiter vehicle maneuvered to an upside-down, tail-first orientation and began a 2–4 minute OMS burn approximately 20 minutes before it reentered the atmosphere. The orbiter vehicle reoriented itself to a nose-forward position with a 40-degree angle-of-attack, and the forward reaction control system (RCS) jets were emptied of fuel and disabled before reentry. The orbiter fired its OMS to deorbit and reenter the atmosphere. Deorbiting was typically done with the OMS engines, and the Shuttle orbiter used 90-170m/s for the job, which is a very small burn compared to the 9,400m/s needed to get to LEO. The orbiter weighs 54,000 lb, and according to the rocket equation, it would have used 2.5% of the shuttle's weight in fuel to deorbit if SSME exhaust velocity=3560m/sec.
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Frequently asked questions
The Space Shuttle Discovery weighed 121,550 kg (268,000 lb) with a full load of propellant.
The structural weight of the Space Shuttle Discovery was approximately 78,000 kg (172,000 lb).
The fuel load of the Space Shuttle Discovery was approximately 500,000 kg (1,100,000 lb).
The solid rocket boosters used in the Space Shuttle program weighed approximately 590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb) each.
Yes, there were some variations in the weight of the SRBs. For example, STS-6 and STS-7 used SRBs that were 2,300 kg (5,000 lb) lighter due to thinner walls.
