Rajan Wilcox
The Space Shuttle is a spacecraft that was used for various missions, including the construction of the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope servicing. With its three main engines, the Shuttle produces a combined thrust of over 1.2 million pounds. The weight of a fully fueled space shuttle is a combination of the weight of the orbiter, the external tank, and the solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The empty weight of the orbiter is around 150,000 to 170,000 pounds, while the external tank, which holds liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel, weighs about 78,000 pounds empty and 1,600,000 pounds when full. The SRBs, which provide additional thrust during the initial launch phase, weigh approximately 190,000 pounds empty and contribute a total of six million pounds of thrust.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Orbiter Vehicle (OV) with three clustered Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines weight | 171,000 lbs |
| Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) weight | 1,300,000 lbs |
| External Tank (ET) weight | 1,667,677 lbs |
| Total weight of the above components | 3,138,677 lbs |
| Longest Space Shuttle mission duration | 17 days, 15 hours (STS-80 mission) |
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What You'll Learn
The Space Shuttle's three main engines
The RS-25 engines were installed in the aft structure of the Space Shuttle orbiter prior to the orbiter being transferred to the launch pad. The engines were independent of the orbiter vehicle and were removed and replaced between flights. Each engine had a mass of approximately 3.5 tonnes (7,700 pounds) and could throttle between 67% and 109% of its rated power level in one-percent increments. The engine nozzles could gimbal ±10.5° in pitch and ±8.5° in yaw during ascent to change the direction of their thrust and steer the shuttle.
The RS-25 underwent a lengthy development process, with its origins tracing back to the 1960s. However, its concerted development began in the 1970s, and the first flight (STS-1) took place in 1981. Before this inaugural flight, NASA specified that the engines must have undergone at least 65,000 seconds of testing. This milestone was surpassed, with the engine accumulating 110,253 seconds of testing by the time of STS-1. The RS-25 has continued to undergo upgrades to improve thrust, reliability, safety, and maintenance load.
Following the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, NASA announced the development of a new launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), which also features the RS-25 as part of its core stage. The RS-25 engines have been kept in a "purged safe" environment at the Stennis Space Center, along with the necessary ground systems for their maintenance.
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The Orbiter Vehicle (OV)
The OV was launched vertically, like a conventional rocket, with two recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs) operating in parallel with the orbiter's three clustered Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines. The SRBs were jettisoned before the vehicle reached orbit, while the main engines continued to operate, fuelled from the expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
The payload bay comprised most of the OV's fuselage, providing cargo-carrying space for the Space Shuttle's payloads. It was 18m long and 4.6m wide, and could accommodate cylindrical payloads up to 4.6m in diameter. Two payload bay doors provided a relatively airtight seal to protect payloads from heating during launch and re-entry.
At the conclusion of the mission, the OV fired its orbital manoeuvring system (OMS) engines to deorbit and re-enter the atmosphere. The OV was protected during re-entry by its thermal protection system tiles and it glided as a spaceplane to a runway landing, usually at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC, Florida, or to Rogers Dry Lake in California.
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Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs)
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) were a pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters that provided 85% of the Space Shuttle's thrust at liftoff and for the first two minutes of ascent. They were the first solid-propellant rockets to be used for primary propulsion on a human spaceflight vehicle. Each SRB provided a maximum of 14.7 MN (3,300,000 lbf) of thrust, or 12,500 kN (2,800,000 lbf) of thrust, which was later improved to 13,300 kN (3,000,000 lbf). The propellant for each solid rocket motor on the Space Shuttle weighed approximately 500,000 kilograms.
The SRBs were jettisoned from the Space Shuttle at an altitude of about 146,000 ft (45 km), or approximately 150,000 ft (46 km). After separation, they deployed parachutes and landed in the ocean, where they were recovered, examined, refurbished, and reused. The SRBs underwent several redesigns throughout the program's lifetime, including one version that was 2,300 kg (5,000 lb) lighter due to thinner walls.
The solid rocket motors in each cluster of four are ignited by firing redundant NSD pressure cartridges into redundant confined detonating fuse manifolds. There are four booster separation motors (BSMs) on each end of each SRB, which separate the SRBs from the external tank. A range safety system (RSS) is also included, which allows for the destruction of the rocket or part of it with on-board explosives if the rocket is out of control.
The original SRB prime contractor for assembly, checkout, and refurbishment was United Space Boosters Inc. (USBI), a division of Pratt & Whitney under United Technologies. USBI had over 1500 personnel working on the Shuttle Boosters at its peak. Components of the SRBs were transported from Utah to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida via rail, covering 2,000 miles (3,200 km) and eight states. The cars carrying SRBs were separated by empty cars to distribute the load over bridges and trestles.
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External Tank (ET)
The External Tank (ET) is often referred to as the "'backbone' of the Space Shuttle during its launch. It is the largest element of the Space Shuttle and, when loaded, it is also the heaviest.
The ET is the expendable component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent, it supplies the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three RS-25 main engines in the orbiter. The ET is jettisoned just over 10 seconds after the main engine is cut off and re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. Unlike the Solid Rocket Boosters, the external tanks are not reused. They break up before impact in the ocean, away from shipping lanes.
The ET also serves as the structural support for the whole shuttle stack, with attachment points for the orbiter and booster rockets. It is connected to the orbiter at one forward attachment bipod and two aft bipods. In the aft attachment area, there are also umbilicals that carry fluids, gases, electrical signals, and electrical power between the tank and the orbiter.
Three different types of external tanks were built over the course of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program: standard-weight tanks (SWTs), lightweight tanks (LWTs), and super lightweight tanks (SLWTs). All three types looked the same on the outside, but differ in their internal construction and materials. The ET is covered with a 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick layer of spray-on foam to protect it from the extreme heat of launch.
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Fuel composition
The Space Shuttle's fuel composition included liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. These were stored in the external tank (ET), which was the largest and heaviest element of the Space Shuttle when loaded. The ET supplied the fuel and oxidizer to the three RS-25 main engines in the orbiter.
The RS-25 engines were titanium alloy, reusable, and independent of the orbiter vehicle. They were staged-combustion cycle cryogenic engines with higher chamber pressure than any previous liquid-fueled rocket.
In addition to the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the ET, the Space Shuttle also had a pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs). These were fueled by a mixture of ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer), aluminum powder and PBAN (fuel), with iron oxide as a catalyst, and an epoxy curing agent. This mixture is known as ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP).
The SRBs were the largest solid-propellant motors ever flown and the first of such large rockets designed for reuse. They committed the shuttle to liftoff and ascent, and could not be jettisoned until both motors had fully expended their propellants. The SRBs were then recovered, refurbished, and reused in subsequent flights.
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Frequently asked questions
A fully fueled NASA space shuttle weighs 1,667,677 lbs, or 756,420 kg. This includes the weight of the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel, which together weigh 1,585,379 lbs, or 719,217 kg.
A space shuttle consists of three major components: the Orbiter, which houses the crew; a large External Tank (ET) that holds fuel for the main engines; and two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) that provide most of the shuttle's lift during the first two minutes of flight.
The external tank is the only component of the space shuttle that is not reused. It burns up in the atmosphere after each launch.
