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The RS-25 engine consists of pumps, valves, and other components working in concert to produce thrust. Fuel (liquid hydrogen) and oxidizer (liquid oxygen) from the Space Shuttle's external tank entered the orbiter at the umbilical disconnect valves and from there flowed through the orbiter's main propulsion system (MPS) feed lines; whereas in the Space Launch System (SLS), fuel and oxidizer ...
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program.
The core stage of the rocket is 8.4 meters (28 ft) in diameter and mount a Main Propulsion System (MPS) incorporating four RS-25 engines. [23] [24] The core stage is structurally similar to the Space Shuttle external tank, [25] [26] and initial flights will use modified RS-25D engines left over from the Space Shuttle program. [27]
The primary intended use of the Phase A Space Shuttle was supporting the future space station, ferrying a minimum crew of four and about 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of cargo, and being able to be rapidly turned around for future flights, with larger payloads like space station modules being lifted by the Saturn V.
The National Launch System (or New Launch System) was a study authorized in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush to outline alternatives to the Space Shuttle for access to Earth orbit. Shortly thereafter, NASA asked Lockheed Missiles and Space , McDonnell Douglas , and TRW to perform a ten-month study.
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was the first solid-propellant rocket to be used for primary propulsion on a vehicle used for human spaceflight. [1] A pair of them provided 85% of the Space Shuttle's thrust at liftoff and for the first two minutes of ascent.
A thruster is a spacecraft propulsion device used for orbital station-keeping, attitude control, or long-duration, low-thrust acceleration, often as part of a reaction control system.
With a conventional chemical propulsion system, 2% of a rocket's total mass might make it to the destination, with the other 98% having been consumed as fuel. With an electric propulsion system, 70% of what's aboard in low Earth orbit can make it to a deep-space destination. [24] However, there is a trade-off.