Shuttle Concept

How it works-

Shuttle lifted off under the power of its

*** Two SRB (Solid propellant motor) had APCP (Ammonium Per chlorate Composite Propellant) & Three Main Engines, which were fueled by liquid Hydrogen and liquid Oxygen from ET (External Tank).

…… SRB gave the 83% of lift of thrust & 28, 00,000 pound force at sea level and 31, 00,000 pound force after liftoff.

…… At liftoff two SRB were used to take the vehicle to an altitude of roughly 1, 40,000 feet.

…… About two minutes after liftoff, explosive bolts were fired, releasing the SRBs, which then parachuted into ocean for reuse.

*** Orbiter and ET continued to ascent on an increasingly horizontal flight path under power from its main engines.

*** Upon reaching 17,500m.p.h, necessary for low earth orbit, the main engines were shut down then ET was jettisoned to burn up in the atmosphere.

*** After jettisoned ET, the OMS (Orbiter Maneuvering System) engines were used to adjust the orbit

…… OMS used the fuel MMH (Mono Methyl Hydrazine) & N2O4 (Nitrogen Tetra oxide), and it gave the 6,000lbf of thrust with specific impulse of 313seconds for about 1000 feet per seconds (300m/s).

…… OMS provided significant thrust for coarse orbital maneuvers including orbital injection, circulation, transfer, and rendezvous, de-orbit, abort to orbit and to abort once around.

…… Orbiter carried people & payload into Low Earth Orbit into earth’s upper atmosphere or thermosphere.

…… Typical payload Capacity was about 22,700kg (50,000lb), it could be increased depending on the choice of launch configuration.

…… Orbiter carried its payload in a large cargo bay with doors that opened along the length of its top.

*** After completed the space mission, it fired its OMS thrusters to drop out and while re-enter to the atmosphere, during descent, the orbiter passed through different layers of the atmosphere and decelerates from Hypersonic speed primarily by “Aero braking”.

…… Aero braking is a space flight maneuver resulting drag slows the spacecraft and it is used when a craft requires a low orbit after arriving at a body with an atmosphere, it requires less fuel than does the direct use of rocket engines.

…… While prepared to the re-entry they operated the orbiter nose-first and up-side-down, so only could fire the RCS thrusters to turn the orbiter tail-first and reduce speed to 200m.p.h (retro fire).

…… Now tail-first, fired the OMS engine to slow and fall down to earth and it done before 25minutes to reach earth’s upper atmosphere.

…… Up-side-down for the easy to turn the orbiter at 40 degree angle with bottom of orbiter face the atmosphere while enter the atmosphere at re-entry, now nose-first again and before reentry just fired left over fuel by RCS thruster to avoid explode of high heat re-entry.

…… At the re-entry altitude 129k.m (80 mile or 400,000 feet) from the earth surface and range from the landing site was 8047k.m (5000miles) and the speed while re-entry 17,000m.p.h (28,000k.m/h).

*** Landing Phase – In lower atmosphere, it was more like a glider with parachute & Fly-by-wire controlled hydraulic actuated flight surfaces controlling its descent.

…… Now no fuel was needed to slow down the orbiter after re-entered to atmosphere.

…… @ lower atmosphere, flight control surfaces were used to slow down the craft by S-shaped banging turns with horizontal landing.

Development of space shuttle Program

Design concept history of Space shuttle

The formal design of what became the space shuttle began with “Phase-A” contract design studies issued in the late 1960’s before Apollo Program.

First design experiment - submitted by Walter Dornberger was “North American X-15”, is rocket powered manned aircraft or space plane and it made the world record for the fastest speed ever reached by manned rocket power aircraft.

Second experiment of Space shuttle design was “Boeing X-20 Dyna Soar” in 1957 to 1963 program design for bombing, space rescue, satellite maintenance, and sabotage of enemy satellites at the time of Mercury/Vostok design is going on.

It could not only be boosted, and travel to distant targets at the speed of an intercontinental ballistic missile under the control of pilot and it land by the parachute system of drag.

Neil Armstrong was selected to pilot the both the X-15 & X-20.

Third experimental design of shuttle was “HL-10”, Horizontal Landing in 1966 and this program design for heavy weight lifting body and to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering, landing with a low-lift-over-drag vehicle for reentry from space at California Dryden flight research centre, Edwards air force base and also to evaluate “Inverted Airfoil” lifting body & delta planform.

Fourth experiment was “DC-3” in 1968, this is basic design of Space shuttle Orbiter

Fifth experiment was “X-24B” in 1973 and it proved that an unpowered space plane could re-enter earth’s atmosphere for Horizontal Landing and Lifting body concept.

Responsible of Space shuttle program segments-

• Kennedy Space Center – responsible for launch, landing and turn around operations for equatorial orbits
• US Air force at Vandenberg air force Base – responsible for launch, landing and turn around operations for polar Orbits
• Johnson Space Center – served as the central point for all shuttle operation and it had all flight and deck hardware
• Marshall Space Flight Center – responsible for the main engines, external tank, and Solid rocket boosters
• John C.Stennis Space Center – handled main engine testing
• Goddard Space Flight Center – managed the Global Tracking network

Shuttle materials hand over to school, universities and Museum across the country after 135 mission completed, these details as follows-

1. Atlantis is delivered to display on Kennedy Space Center
2. Flight & mid deck hardware moved from Johnson space center to National Museum of U.S air force
3. Full fuselage mockup, which includes payload bay, aft section but no wings delivered to Museum of Flight
4. Mission simulation and training facility’s fixed simulator was moved to Chicago Adler Planetarium
5. Motion simulator to Texas A&M Aerospace engineering department in college station
6. Simulation used in Astronaut training sent to Wings of dreams Aviation Museum in Florida and Virginia Air & Space Center
7. Endeavour was delivered to display on California Science Centre in Los Angles
8. Discovery was delivered to display on Udvar-Hazy Center of Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & space Museum in Virginia
9. Enterprise moved to Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum
10. Thermal Protection System tiles more than 1000 delivered to many school and universities across countries for educational purpose

Space Travel

1. Spacecrafts - Before the space shuttle mission, nations used the spacecraft to carry the Payload and Crew for the Space Missions and it launch by the Rocket. It includes both manned and unmanned system. These Spacecrafts are like Apollo and Soyuz But its non reusable crafts.

2. Spaceflights – It is the use of technology to achieve the flight of spacecraft into and through outer space. For Example to transfer the crew from spacecraft to other near planet surface in space.

3. Space plane – It is the aircraft designed to pass the edge of space. For Example Rocket or Carrying plane like Boeing 747.

4. Rocket – It is the Missile, which obtains thrust by reaction of rocket to ejection of jet of fast moving fluid exhaust from rocket engine.

5. Space shuttle – Manned Orbital Spacecraft with horizontal landing and launch vertically by Rocket. Space shuttle contains

externally filled fuel tank,

Solid rocket booster for initial thrust,

Orbiter - winged space plane (mixture of rocket, spacecraft and aircraft)

Have a Nice Day!!!

What is SPACE SHUTTLE?

Space shuttle was a Manned Orbital Rocket and this is the Partially Reusable Launch & Re-entry Spacecraft System.

It was used for Orbital Space Missions it included the launching numerous satellites and interplanetary probes, conducting space science experiments and servicing & construction of space station.

Total space shuttle program contains the major components included the

Orbiters – Winged Space plane (1) reusable

SRB – Solid Rocket Boosters (2) recoverable

ET – External Tank (1) Cryogenic propellant tank non reusable

Payload – Crew (6) & Space mission parts

Supporting Infrastructure

As of 2011 only three nations have flown manned spacecraft – Russia, USA, and China.

India, Japan, Europe/ESA, Iran, Denmark, Romania have plans for manned Spacecraft.

The first manned spacecraft was “VOSTOK1” which carried Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space in 1961, and completed the full earth orbit.

The second manned spacecraft was named FREEDOM7 and it performed a sub-orbital spaceflight in 1961 carrying Astronaut Alan Sheppard to an altitude of just over 187k.m

Other Soviet manned spacecraft include the

Voshkod

Soyuz

Unflown as manned Zond/L1, L3, TKS &

Salyut

Mir manned space station

Other American manned spacecraft include the

Gemini

Apollo

Skylab space station

Space shuttle with undetached European Spacelab

Private US space hub Space station modules

China developed unflown Shuguang & currently using Shenzhou(the first china manned mission craft in 2003).

Life – each shuttle orbiter was designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or 10 years of operational life, although this was later extended.

Missions – totally 135 mission completed by Shuttle from 1981 to 2011, and it includes the 37 mission to construct to International Space Station.

Total Shuttle Orbiters are

1. Enterprise – First shuttle orbiter in 1977, and take off by Boeing 747 cargo for testing of successful shuttle operation (prototype orbiter)

2. Columbia – First as a space shuttle use Rocket launch in 1981 to 2003

3. Challenger – 1983 to 1986

4. Discovery – 1984 to final flight on march 2011

5. Atlantis – 1985 to last ever Shuttle flight in July 2011

6. Endeavour – 1992 Replacement of Challenger after crash of 1986 and final flight June 2011

7. Buran – The only Russian shuttle in 1988 (Russia used spacecraft like Soyuz ever for space mission)