The Orbiter was about 37.1 m (122 ft) long with a wingspan of about 23.8 m (78 ft). The cargo/payload carrying capacity was limited by the 18.3-m- (60-ft)-long by 4.6-m- (15-ft)- wide payload bay. The cargo/payload weighed up to
29,000 kg (65,000 pounds)
, depending on the desired orbital inclination.
What was the maximum number of astronauts the Space Shuttle could carry?
The Space Shuttle—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank—carried up to
eight astronauts
and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO).
How many astronauts did the Space Shuttle carry?
A Space Shuttle crew typically had
seven astronauts
, with STS-61-A flying with eight.
How much fuel did the Space Shuttle carry?
A. At liftoff, an orbiter and External Tank carry
835,958 gallons
of the principle liquid propellants: hydrogen, oxygen, hydrazine, monomethylhydrazine, and nitrogen tetroxide. The total weight is 1,607,185 pounds.
How many astronauts are lost in space?
A
total of 18 people
have lost their lives either while in space or in preparation for a space mission, in four separate incidents. Given the risks involved in space flight, this number is surprisingly low. The two worst disasters both involved NASA’s space shuttle.
Could the shuttle go to the Moon?
“The space shuttle is designed to travel in low-Earth orbit (within a few hundred miles of the Earth’s surface). It does not carry enough propellant to leave Earth’s orbit and travel to the moon,” the space agency stated. … “We all pointed out that
the shuttle could never actually get to the moon
.
How much does 1 gallon of rocket fuel cost?
According to a NASA-published fact sheet, LOX and LH propellant costs the Agency
about $1.65 a gallon
.
How much does a space suit cost?
The cost of a spacesuit originally was about $22 million. Building one from scratch right now can be
as much as 250 million
.
What percentage of fuel is used during takeoff?
A good estimate would be about 85% of the total fuel consumed would be done during cruise flight
Is anyone lost in space?
We’
ve lost only 18 people in space
—including 14 NASA astronauts—since humankind first took to strapping ourselves to rockets. That’s relatively low, considering our history of blasting folks into space without quite knowing what would happen.
Has anyone ever floated away in space?
The STS-41B was launched on February 3, 1984. Four days later, on February 7,
McCandless
stepped out of the space shuttle Challenger into nothingness. As he moved away from the spacecraft, he floated freely without any earthly anchor.
What does space smell like?
The fragrance was developed by Steve Pearce, according to Eau de Space product manager Matt Richmond. … Richmond said that he has struggled to describe how the fragrance smells, adding, “Astronauts describe the smell as a mix of
gunpowder
, seared steak, raspberries and rum.”
Why did NASA stop using the shuttle?
While reentering Earth’s atmosphere, Columbia broke apart,
killing the entire crew
. All of these factors — high costs, slow turnaround, few customers, and a vehicle (and agency) that had major safety problems — combined to make the Bush administration realize it was time for the Space Shuttle Program to retire.
How many G’s does an astronaut experience?
Apollo astronauts experienced about
4 G’s
on the Saturn V rocket, while astronauts riding in NASA’s space shuttles were subjected to only about 3 G’s. The most intense ballistic re-entry of a Soyuz spacecraft happened in 2008, when three Expedition 16 crewmembers experienced more than 8 G’s before landing off-course.
How fast can we fly in space?
Nothing can travel faster than 300,000 kilometers per second (
186,000 miles per second
).
How much does it cost to fill a rocket with fuel?
Right now, rockets are treated as trash once they’ve taken off, so companies must spend millions of dollars on manufacturing brand new rockets for every single flight. It costs $60 million to make the Falcon 9, and
$200,000
to fuel it, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
