Space Shuttle

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NASA's Space Shuttle, officially named the Space Transportation System (STS), is the spacecraft currently used by the United States government for its human spaceflight missions and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010. At launch, it consists of a rust-colored external tank (ET), two white, slender Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), and the orbiter, which is a winged spaceplane in the narrowest 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 kilograms (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, the shuttle orbiter decelerates from hypersonic speed primarily by aerobraking and then for the landing phase it acts as a glider, making a completely unpowered (deadstick) landing.

For more information about Space Shuttle, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

News tagged with space shuttle

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Atlantis 'Go' For Launch to Station on Nov. 16

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 29, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's space shuttle Atlantis is targeted to begin an 11-day flight to the International Space Station with a Nov. 16 launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled ...

Russia hopes nuclear ship will fly humans to Mars

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 29, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (32) | 36

(AP) -- Russia should build a new nuclear-powered spaceship for prospective manned missions to Mars and other planets, the nation's space chief said Thursday.

Bad weather could interfere with NASA test flight

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 26, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- NASA's newest rocket is on the verge of blasting off on a test flight.

NASA's Ares 1-X rocket rolled to launch pad 39-b at the Kennedy Space Center October 20, 2009 in Cape Canaveral, Florida

NASA is 'go' for crucial rocket test

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 25, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (7) | 5

NASA is set to blast off a prototype rocket on Tuesday that carries hopes of returning humans to the Moon, and for the first time to Mars, despite deep uncertainty about the program's future.

Panel says NASA should skip moon, fly elsewhere (AP)

Panel says NASA should skip moon, fly elsewhere (Update)

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 23, 2009 | 3.3 / 5 (12) | 23

(AP) -- NASA needs to make a major detour on its grand plans to return astronauts to the moon, a special independent panel told the White House Thursday.

NASA puts new rocket on launch pad for test flight (AP)

NASA puts new Ares I-X rocket on launch pad for test flight

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 20, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (10) | 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time in more than a quarter century, a new vehicle is sitting at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ares I-X flight test vehicle arrived at the pad ...

Galileo's Jupiter Journey Began Two Decades Ago

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 19, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (5) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Galileo spacecraft began what would become a 14-year odyssey of exploration 20 years ago this Sunday, Oct. 18. Galileo was humanity's first emissary to orbit a planet in the outer solar ...

NASA Updates Shuttle Atlantis Target Launch Date

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 19, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA is targeting Nov. 16 for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA Launches Tweetup for Space Shuttle Atlantis Liftoff in Florida

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 14, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, NASA Twitter followers are invited to view a space shuttle launch in person at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

First NASA Astronaut on Twitter Tops a Million Followers

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Oct 06, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- The first astronaut to tweet from space has passed another social media milestone. NASA's Mike Massimino, known as @Astro_Mike on Twitter, now shares his daily experiences with more than a million followers ...

The naked truth about our landscape

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

Oct 01, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (4) | 0

Australia has been stripped bare of vegetation to expose the surface that lies beneath.

ORMatE returns to NRL after nearly 2 years in Earth orbit

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 30, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (2) | 0

Completing an 18-month mission orbiting the Earth more than 6,000 times on-orbit the International Space Station (ISS), the Optical Reflector Material Experiment (ORMatE-1) returns to Washington, D.C., to ...

Expedition 21 to Launch to Station Wednesday Morning

Light-Duty Day for ISS Crew, Expedition 21 to Launch Wednesday Morning

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 29, 2009 | 3.7 / 5 (3) | 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Expedition 20 crew members had a light-duty work day and performed a variety of maintenance and science-related tasks Monday as they prepare for a busy week aboard the International Space ...

Rocket readied at Kazakh steppe for ISS mission

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

Sep 28, 2009 | 3 / 5 (1) | 0

(AP) -- Workers at Russia's manned space-launch facility lifted to the launch pad on Monday a rocket that is to send Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two astronauts to the International Space Station.