Portal:Aviation/Selected Aircraft/14
NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System (STS), was the spacecraft which was used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions. At launch, it consisted of a rust-colored external tank (ET), two white, slender Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and the orbiter, a winged spaceplane which was the space shuttle in the narrow sense.
The orbiter carried 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 rode in the orbiter. The payload capacity was 22,700 kg (50,000 lb). When the orbiter's mission was complete, it fired its Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enter the lower atmosphere. During the descent and landing, the shuttle orbiter acted as a glider, and made 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)