Sylvie Willis
The NASA Space Shuttle used a combination of solid rocket boosters and liquid fuel to launch. The two solid rocket boosters used roughly 500,000 kg of Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP), providing 124 seconds of burn time. The external tank held more than half a million gallons of self-combustible liquid fuel, consisting of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The main engines used 385,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen. The external tank was the largest and heaviest component of the Space Shuttle.
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What You'll Learn
- The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) held over half a million gallons of self-combustible liquid
- The ET was the backbone of the shuttle, providing structural support and attachment for the Solid Rocket Boosters
- The two Solid Rocket Boosters used 500,000 kg of Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant
- The boosters provided 85% of the thrust needed for launch
- The main engine uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) held over half a million gallons of self-combustible liquid
The Space Shuttle consists of three main parts: the orbiter, the external tank (ET), and two solid rocket boosters. The ET is the largest and, when loaded, the heaviest element of the Space Shuttle. It is the "backbone" of the shuttle during launch, providing structural support for attachment with the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and the orbiter. The ET is connected to each SRB at one forward attachment point and one aft bracket, and it is connected to the orbiter at one forward attachment bipod and two aft bipods.
The ET contains more than half a million gallons of self-combustible liquid. It supplies the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three RS-25 main engines in the orbiter during lift-off and ascent. The ET is jettisoned just over 10 seconds after the main engine cut-off and re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. The ET is not reused, and it breaks up before impact in the Indian Ocean or the Pacific Ocean, away from shipping lanes.
The ET comes in three different configurations with varying capacities. The Super Lightweight Tank (SLWT) is the most advanced version, providing 50% of the performance increase required for the shuttle to reach the International Space Station. The SLWT has the same design as the LWT but uses an aluminium-lithium alloy (Al 2195) for a large part of the tank structure, resulting in a significant reduction in tank weight.
The liquid fuel in the ET consists of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Space Shuttle's main engine uses 385,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen.
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The ET was the backbone of the shuttle, providing structural support and attachment for the Solid Rocket Boosters
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. The SRBs were jettisoned before the vehicle reached orbit, while the main engines continued to operate. The External Tank (ET) is the “gas tank” for the Orbiter and contains the propellants used by the Space Shuttle Main Engines. The ET is the only component of the Space Shuttle that is not reused.
The ET is the backbone of the Shuttle, providing structural support and attachment for the Solid Rocket Boosters. It absorbs the total thrust loads of the three main engines and the two solid rocket motors. When the Solid Rocket Boosters separate at an altitude of approximately 45 kilometres (28 miles), the orbiter, with its main engines still burning, carries the external tank piggyback to near orbital velocity, approximately 113 kilometres (70 miles) above the Earth.
The External Tank is also referred to as the "gas tank" for the Orbiter. It contains the propellants used by the Space Shuttle Main Engines. The ET is the only component of the Space Shuttle that is not reused. The External Tank weighs 78,100 pounds empty and has a propellant weight of 1,585,379 pounds. It contains 1,359,142 pounds of liquid oxygen and 226,237 pounds of liquid hydrogen.
The Space Shuttle's main engine uses 385,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen. The two Solid Rocket Boosters used roughly 500,000 kg of an 11-star perforated solid propellant cake of Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP), which provided 124 seconds of burn time.
The ET has undergone several design changes over the years to reduce weight and increase efficiency. The Super Lightweight Tank (SLWT), for example, used an aluminium-lithium alloy that was 40% stronger and 10% less dense than its predecessor, resulting in a weight reduction of 3,400 kg (7,500 lb). This weight reduction allowed the Space Shuttle to deliver heavier elements to the ISS's high inclination orbit.
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The two Solid Rocket Boosters used 500,000 kg of Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant
The Space Shuttle used two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) that burned through 500,000 kg of Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP). APCP is a solid propellant made from a mixture of ammonium perchlorate, aluminium, iron oxide, PBAN or HTPB polymers, and an epoxy curing agent. The SRBs provided 85% of the thrust needed to launch the shuttle.
The SRBs were attached to the external tank (ET), which formed the “backbone” of the shuttle during launch. The ET supplied the fuel and oxidizer to the orbiter's three RS-25 main engines. The ET was the largest and heaviest component of the Space Shuttle. It consisted of three major components: the forward liquid oxygen (LOX) tank, the aft liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank, and the intertank structure that separated the two.
The LOX and LH2 tanks were made of different materials to accommodate the extreme temperatures of their contents. The LOX tank had to withstand temperatures as low as -297 degrees Fahrenheit, while the LH2 tank operated at an extremely cold -423 degrees Fahrenheit.
The SRBs and the ET worked together to provide the necessary thrust and fuel to launch the Space Shuttle into orbit. The SRBs were jettisoned about two minutes after launch and were recovered and reused, while the ET was discarded and broke up before impact in the ocean.
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The boosters provided 85% of the thrust needed for launch
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) were the first solid-propellant rockets to be used for primary propulsion on a vehicle used for human spaceflight. A pair of SRBs provided 85% of the thrust needed for the Space Shuttle to lift off. They worked for the first two minutes of the flight, burning for 124 seconds, before their fuel ran out and they separated from the Shuttle.
The SRBs were ignited after the three RS-25 main engines' thrust level was verified. Each SRB had a liftoff thrust of approximately 12 meganewtons (MN) (2,800,000 pounds-force) at sea level, increasing shortly after liftoff to 14.7 MN (3,300,000 lbf). The SRBs helped the Space Shuttle reach an altitude of 28 miles (45 km) and a speed of 3,094 mph (4,979 km/h).
The SRBs were jettisoned from the Space Shuttle at an altitude of about 146,000 feet (45 km). SRB separation was initiated when the three solid-rocket motor-chamber pressure transducers were processed in the redundancy-management middle-value select, and the head-end chamber pressure of both SRBs was less than or equal to 50 psi (340 kPa). The boosters were then parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean, where they were recovered, examined, refurbished, and reused.
The Space Shuttle SRBs were the most powerful solid rocket motors to ever launch humans. The propellant mixture in the boosters consisted of ammonium perchlorate (oxidiser), aluminium (fuel), iron oxide (a catalyst), a polymer that holds the mixture together and acts as a secondary fuel, and an epoxy curing agent.
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The main engine uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
The Space Shuttle's main engine, which must work above the atmosphere, uses 385,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen. The liquid hydrogen is stored in the aft liquid hydrogen tank, which is the largest part of the Space Shuttle external tank (ET). However, due to liquid hydrogen's very low density, the tank is relatively light. The ET also contains the liquid oxygen oxidizer.
The RS-25, also known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine that was used on NASA's Space Shuttle and is now used on the Space Launch System. The RS-25 burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, with each engine producing 1,859 kN (418,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff. The engine has undergone upgrades to improve thrust, reliability, safety, and maintenance load.
The liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants are fed into the RS-25 engine through separate paths. They first pass through low-pressure turbopumps and then into high-pressure turbopumps. The liquid hydrogen is used to cool the RS-25 nozzle, which has an unusually large expansion ratio. To prevent flow separation, Rocketdyne engineers varied the angle of the nozzle walls, which raises the pressure around the rim.
The Space Shuttle external tank is the largest and heaviest component of the Space Shuttle when loaded. It supplies the fuel and oxidizer to the RS-25 main engines under pressure. The ET is jettisoned just over 10 seconds after main engine cut-off and re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, breaking up before impact in the Indian or Pacific Ocean.
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Frequently asked questions
The space shuttle carries more than half a million gallons of self-combustible liquid fuel in its external tank.
The external tank (ET) is the component of the space shuttle that contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. It is the largest and heaviest element of the shuttle.
The space shuttle has three main parts: the orbiter (which holds the crew and payload), the external fuel tank, and two solid rocket boosters.
Solid rocket boosters are the components that generate 85% of the thrust needed for the shuttle to take off. They use a mixture of ammonium perchlorate, aluminium, iron oxide, PBAN or HTPB polymers, and an epoxy curing agent.
The fuel used in the external tank is liquid hydrogen, and the oxidizer is liquid oxygen.
