The space shuttle, first launched in April 1981, is the world's only reusable spacecraft designed to transport cargo and astronauts to orbit, and has conducted approximately 100 missions. Key components include the orbiter, external tank, and solid rocket boosters, with the main engines providing significant thrust and advanced technology for space operations. The shuttle has played a crucial role in various scientific and military missions throughout its operational history.

1. SPACE SHUTTLES
AND
ADVANCEMENT

2. THE SPACE SHUTTLE

3. Shuttle Orbiter

4. The Space Shuttle
 Primary objective is to improve access to
space
 First flight was April 1981 with astronauts
Young and Crippen
 Has flown approximately 100 missions
carrying 1.5 million pounds of cargo and over
600 major payloads

5. Discovery lifts off at the start of
STS-120.

6. The Space Shuttle
 World’s first and only reusable space vehicle
 Can transport people, materials, equipment
and spacecraft into orbit
 Also used to service and repair satellites and
observatories and to conduct medical and
scientific experiments

7. STS-129 ready for launch

8.  THE EXTERNAL TANK OR ET
 SPACE SHUTTLES MAIN ENGINE
 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS OR SRBs
 ORBITAL VEHICLE

9. Space Shuttle Components
 Orbiter-can carry up to 7 astronauts and the
payload in its 60-foot long cargo bay
(Atlantis, Discovery & Endeavour)
 External tank (154 feet) which stores nearly
half million pounds of liquid oxygen and
hydrogen
 Solid rocket boosters which generate nearly 6
million pounds of thrust; jettisoned 2 minutes
into flight.

11. THE EXTERNAL TANK:
 The main function of the Space Shuttle
external tank was to supply the liquid oxygen
and hydrogen fuel to the main engines.
 It was also the backbone of the launch
vehicle, providing attachment points for the
two solid rocket boosters and the orbiter.
 The external tank was the only part of the
Shuttle system that was not reused.

12. Anatomy of the External Tank

13. A Space Shuttle External Tank
(ET)on its way to the
Vehicle Assembly Building.

14. MAIN ENGINES:
 The Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), is a
liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine
 Built in the United States by Rocketdyne, the
RS-25 burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen &
liquid oxygen propellants, with each engine
producing 1,859 kN (418,000 lbf) of thrust at
liftoff.

16. ENGINE COMPONENTS:
 The Engine consists of various pumps, valves
and other components which work in concert
to produce thrust.
 Developed in the 1970s by the Marshall Space
Flight Center, the space shuttle main engine
was the world's most sophisticated reusable
rocket engine.

17.  The space shuttle's three main engines
operated for 8 minutes and 40 seconds for
each shuttle flight, with a combined output of
37 million horsepower. At their full power,
that was equivalent to the output of 13
Hoover Dams.
 Space shuttle main engines operated at
greater temperature extremes than any
mechanical system in common use

18. Space Shuttle Main Engine
Schematic Diagram

19.  The combined pumping capacity of all three
space shuttle main engine turbopumps could
drain an average-sized swimming pool in 28
seconds.
 The combustion chamber reached +6,000
degrees F. -- hotter than the boiling point of
iron.

20. Space Shuttle Main Engine test
firing.

21.  Each main engine was 14 feet long, weighed
approximately 7,000 pounds and was 7.5 feet
in diameter at the end of its nozzle.
 The engine produces a specific impulse (Isp) of
452 seconds (4.43 km/s) in a vacuum, or 366
seconds (3.59 km/s) at sea level, has a mass of
approximately 3.5 tonnes (7,700 pounds), and
is capable of throttling between 67% and
109% of its rated power level in one-percent
increments

22. A Block II RS-25D Main
Engine Controller
Each engine is equipped with a
Main Engine Controller (MEC), an
integrated computer which controls
all of the engine's functions
(through the use of valves) and
monitors its performance. Built by
Honeywell Aerospace, each MEC
originally comprised two redundant
Honeywell HDC-601 computers,
[11] later upgraded to a system
composed of two doubly
redundant Motorola 68000
(M68000) processors (for a total of
4 M68000s per controller).

23. Main combustion chamber
Each engine main combustion chamber (MCC) receives fuel-rich
hot gas from a hot-gas manifold cooling circuit. The gaseous
hydrogen and liquid oxygen enter the chamber at the injector, which
mixes the propellants. A small augmented-spark igniter-chamber is
located in the center of the injector, and this dual-redundant igniter
is used during the engine start sequence to initiate combustion.
Nozzle
The engine's nozzle is 121 in (3.1 m) long with a diameter of
10.3 in (0.26 m) at its throat and 90.7 in (2.30 m) at its exit. The
nozzle is a bell-shaped extension bolted to the main combustion
chamber, referred to as a de Laval nozzle. The RS-25 nozzle has an
unusually large expansion ratio (about 77.5:1) for the chamber
pressure.

24. The nozzles of Space Shuttle
Columbia's three RS-25s following
the landing ofSTS-93.

25. SSME TEST FIRING:
RS-25 testing at Stennis Space Center.

26. ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS :
{ For RS-25 }
Manufacturer : Rocketdyne
Associated L/V : Space Shuttle
Space Launch System
Predecessor : HG-3
Status : Inactive since STS-135
Liquid-fuel engine
Propellant : Liquid oxygen / Liquid hydrogen
Cycle : Staged combustion

27. Nozzle ratio: 69:1
Thrust (vac.) : 512,300 lbf (2,279 kN)
Thrust (SL) : 418,000 lbf (1,860 kN)
Chamber pressure : 2,994 psi (20.64 MPa)
Isp (vac.) : 452.3 seconds (4.436 km/s)
Isp (SL) : 366 seconds (3.59 km/s)
Length : 168 inches (4.3 m)
Diameter : 96 inches (2.4 m)

28. Schematic diagram

29. Shuttle Missions
 Astronomy and Microgravity Science
 Astrophysics and Planetary Science
 Atmospheric Science
 Communications
 Geophysics and Solar Physics
 Life Science Research
 National Security

30. Space Shuttle Mission Profile

31. ADVANCEMENTS
 FMOF (First Manned Orbital Flight) – Certified
for 100% Rated Power Level (RPL). Used for the
Orbital Flight Test missions STS-1—STS-5 .
 Phase I – Used for missions STS-6—STS-51-L,
the Phase I engine offered increased service life
and was certified for 104% RPL.
 Phase II (RS-25A) – First flown on STS-26, the
Phase II engine offered a number of safety
upgrades and was certified for 104% RPL & 109%
Full Power Level (FPL) in the event of a
contingency.

32. Spaceship of the Future – Concept Design

33. THANK YOU…