What is a fact about the space shuttle?
Interesting Space Shuttle Facts: The length of the space shuttle is 184 feet and it weighs 4.5 million pounds. The space shuttle was the first piece of space exploration technology that was reusable. Although over 600 astronauts have flown to outer space on the space shuttle, only about seven can fly out at one time.
How fast do space shuttles go?
about 17,500 miles per hour
A. Like any other object in low-Earth orbit, a Space Shuttle must reach speeds of about 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour) to remain in orbit.
How many shuttles are in space?
How many space shuttles were there? Six space shuttles were built, but only five ever flew in space. Enterprise: The first space shuttle never launched, but was used for atmospheric flight tests after being released from the back of a Boeing 747.
How long is a space shuttle?
122.2 feet long
Get the basics about the space shuttle. How big is the shuttle? The shuttle measures 122.2 feet long, 56.67 feet high, with wingspan of 78.06 feet. The height of the full shuttle stack, including the external fuel tank, is 184.2 feet.
Can the space shuttle fly?
Both the captive and free-flight tests proved that shuttle orbiters could fly atop the SCA in a piggyback formation, which was necessary to ferry shuttle orbiters from Dryden, where they would be landing, to Florida, where they would launch again.
Who invented the space shuttle?
On April 12, 1981, John Young and Robert Crippen launched the space shuttle program by piloting Columbia to space and returning successfully two days later.
How many times did the space shuttle fly?
The first (STS-1) of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights (STS-5) beginning in 1982. Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
Which space shuttle did not fly?
Enterprise
Enterprise was the first space shuttle orbiter ever built. It was used a test vehicle and did not fly in space. In 2012, Discovery took its final flight to the Udvar-Hazy Center. Enterprise is now on display at the the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.
Who invented space shuttle?
Who built space shuttle?
Space Shuttle
| Manufacturer | United Space Alliance Thiokol/Alliant Techsystems (SRBs) Lockheed Martin/Martin Marietta (ET) Boeing/Rockwell (orbiter) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Project cost | US$211 billion (2012) |
| Cost per launch | US$576 million (2012) to US$1.64 billion (2012) |
| Size |
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Do they reuse space shuttles?
All of the components are reused except for the external fuel tank, which burns up in the atmosphere after each launch. The longest the Shuttle has stayed in orbit on any single mission is 17.5 days on mission STS-80 in November 1996. Normally, missions may be planned for anywhere from five to 16 days in duration.
Where do space shuttles fly?
All Space Shuttle missions were launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Some civilian and military circumpolar space shuttle missions were planned for Vandenberg AFB in California.