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Ship 28 and Ship 29 flew long Suborbital flights, however both demonstrated that Starship can reach LEO. Suborbital: In development 2020–2024 Space Shuttle orbiter: 122,683 kg (270,470 lb) Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-117, the heaviest flight of the Space Shuttle. LEO: Retired: 1981–2011 Apollo CSM: 28,800 kg (63,493 lb)
In aerospace engineering, payload fraction is a common term used to characterize the efficiency of a particular design. The payload fraction is the quotient of the payload mass and the total vehicle mass at the start of its journey.
Space Shuttle 7.6 and 10.6 Fairing. DARPA studied modifying the current external tank design to be able to carry low-density payloads in a 25 or 35 ft (7.6 or 10.6 m) diameter fairing where the oxygen tank was currently. The Shuttle on average would only fly 66% of its payload capability but at nearly 100% of its payload volume.
The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) carried the propellant for the Space Shuttle Main Engines, and connected the orbiter vehicle with the solid rocket boosters. The ET was 47 m (153.8 ft) tall and 8.4 m (27.6 ft) in diameter, and contained separate tanks for liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
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.
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.
Gravity turn of the Space Shuttle. A gravity turn or zero-lift turn is a maneuver used in launching a spacecraft into, or descending from, an orbit around a celestial body such as a planet or a moon. It is a trajectory optimization that uses gravity to steer the vehicle onto its desired trajectory.
During a normal Space Shuttle launch, for example, max q value of 0.32 atmospheres occurred at an altitude of approximately 11 km (36,000 ft), about one minute after launch. [2] The three Space Shuttle Main Engines were throttled back to about 65–72% of their rated thrust (depending on payload) as the dynamic pressure approached max q . [ 3 ]