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Questions tagged [space-shuttle]

The Space Shuttle was a crewed, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft operated by NASA from 1981 to 2011.

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What is the thrust to weight ratio of space shuttle without the SRB's? [duplicate]

Imagine a space shuttle without the two SRB's. When at launch configuration will the the shuttle's 3 RS-25 provide the thrust to lift the shuttle?
Ashvin's user avatar
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15votes
1answer
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Two Get Away Specials were on board STS-51B. What's a "Get Away Special"?

From NASA.gov's STS-51B: Mission Highlights The primary payload was Spacelab-3. This was the first operational flight for the Spacelab orbital laboratory series developed by the European Space Agency....
uhoh's user avatar
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11votes
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How did the monkeys aboard STS-51B like being weightless? Were they prepared for microgravity or was the "surprise" part of the experiment?

From NASA.gov's STS-51B: Mission Highlights The primary payload was Spacelab-3. This was the first operational flight for the Spacelab orbital laboratory series developed by the European Space Agency....
uhoh's user avatar
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10votes
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Space Shuttle HUD use outside of landing?

Has the Space Shuttle's HUD ever been used for anything other than the entry, TAEM and landing phases, or has such usage ever been considered (e.g. as a visual reference for ISS proximity manoeuvres ...
mini's user avatar
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8votes
1answer
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Could the shuttle have avoided the umbilical plate if the LH2 and LOx had been piped directly to the nozzles?

One of the riskier components of the Shuttle's design (that fortunately never failed) are the umbilical doors on the rear underside of the orbiter. There are probably aerodynamic and structural ...
ijustlovemath's user avatar
8votes
2answers
281views

At what point in the Shuttle's design process was the 3g acceleration limit uncovered for the second stage of flight?

I'm watching a new documentary on the Shuttle, and one of the astronauts talks about how during the second stage, they limit the acceleration of the vehicle to 3g, to prevent the wings from shearing ...
ijustlovemath's user avatar
1vote
1answer
116views

Ascent trajectory Non Stagnation Point wall temperature Space Shuttle External tank

Are there any available data on the Space Shuttle External Tank wall temperatures, for the points and surfaces other than the stagnation point? I found an interesting paper here -> https://ntrs....
Irocket's user avatar
4votes
1answer
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Space Shuttle Main Engine TVC actuator torque

Curious if there are references for the Shuttle Main Engine Gimballing actuator torque and the arm distance between CG of the Shuttle and the gimballing point. edit (from comment) ... the torque and ...
Irocket's user avatar
0votes
1answer
211views

Can there be a program similar to the space shuttle program?

The Space Shuttle program was mankind's first reusable spacecraft program. Later on July 21st, 2011, it was discontinued due to maintenance expenses. Is it possible (Given today's technological ...
Aerospace_Nerd's user avatar
5votes
1answer
180views

Prior to Polaris Dawn, when was the most recent non-station EVA?

Prior to the Polaris Dawn spacewalk in September 2024, when was the most recent non-station EVA? Specifically excluding: EVAs that occurred at the ISS or Tiangong space station EVAs that occured from ...
Dragongeek's user avatar
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0answers
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How many of the heat shield tiles on Atlantis and Endeavour are original?

Original in this context means heat shield tiles that were never replaced. From my answer to Are there any original heat shield tiles on any of the retired space shuttles that flew to space?, 75% of ...
Starship Remembers Shadow's user avatar
4votes
2answers
184views

Hypothetical Shuttle tank sep with SRBs firing

Hypothetically, say you had 5 secs warning of a SRB destruction event in the SRB ascent phase of Shuttle. My understanding is that there was no abort possible during the SRB phase, so no RTLS, no ...
AndrewS's user avatar
12votes
1answer
1kviews

Are there any original heat shield tiles on any of the retired space shuttles that flew to space?

By "original" I mean that they never needed to be replaced during the life of the vehicle. My reasoning is that if NASA had engineered the shuttle optimally, all the tiles would have been ...
phil1008's user avatar
21votes
1answer
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Did the Space Shuttle weigh itself before deorbit?

Back in the day, it was standard for commercial airlines to calculate the mass of an airliner before takeoff, using assumptions of average passenger weight along with accounts of fuel loaded or ...
Woody's user avatar
16votes
4answers
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Do space stations have anything that big spacecraft (such as the Space Shuttle and SpaceX Starship) don't have?

For quite some time I wonder why spacefaring countries find it necessary to go to space stations instead of doing scientific research on the spacecraft they launched on. Of course, modular space ...
Star Captain's user avatar

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