Portal:Aviation/Selected Aircraft/14
NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), is the spacecraft which was used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions. At launch, it consists of a rust-colored external tank (ET), two white, slender Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and the orbiter, a winged spaceplane which is the space shuttle in the narrow sense.
The orbiter carries astronauts and payload such as satellites or space station parts into low Earth orbit, into the Earth's upper atmosphere or thermosphere. Usually, five to seven crew members ride in the orbiter. The payload capacity is 22,700 kg (50,000 lb). When the orbiter's mission is complete it fires its Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enters the lower atmosphere. During the descent and landing, the shuttle orbiter acts as a glider, and makes a completely unpowered ("dead stick") landing.
- Span: 78.06 ft (23.79 m)
- Length: 122.17 ft (37.24 m)
- Height: 58.58 ft (17.25 m)
- Engines: 3 Rocketdyne Block 2 A SSMEs
- Cruising Speed: 25,404 ft/s (7,743 m/s, 27,875 km/h, 17,321 mi/h)
- First Flight: August 12, 1977 (glider), April 12, 1981 (powered).
- Operational Altitude: 100 to 520 nmi (185 to 1,000 km)
- Number built: 6 (+2 mockups)