Space Shuttle Superlatives Create Bigger-Than-Life ‘Gee Whiz’ Facts

September 17, 2021

The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on the program’s 135th mission. — *The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on the program’s 135th and final mission. Photo credit: NASA*

By Bob Granath

Over a period of three decades, America’s Space Shuttle established a legacy of rewriting the history of space flight. During that time, astronauts shuttled to and from low Earth orbit showing again and again the value of the human element in this challenging environment.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour docket to the International Space Station. — *Space Shuttle Endeavour docket to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA*

The National Space Transportation System’s 135 missions proved that spacecraft can be flown multiple times, deliver to and retrieve from orbit many diverse payloads as well as serving as a platform for assembly and repair work in space.

The Space Shuttle era was one of superlatives. Everything was bigger than life. The factoids associated with the program are examples of the historic size, capabilities and achievements of the shuttle and the team that made their achievements possible.

First Space Shuttle Launch

The crew of the first Space Shuttle mission, John Young, left, and Bob Crippen on the flight deck of the orbiter Columbia. — *John Young, left, and Bob Crip*pen in the orbiter Columbia. Photo credit: NASA

After years of research and development, John Young and Bob Crippen flew the Space Shuttle Columbia for its maiden flight on April 12, 1981.

That date was exactly 20 years to the day after Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space.

A century ago, the Wright Brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. On Dec. 17, 1903, their “Wright Flyer” traveled 120 feet at 30 mph in 12 seconds.

Space Shuttles circled the globe in ninety minutes, traveling at 17,500 mph — 25 times the speed of sound.

Space Shuttle

NASA’s Space Shuttle fleet was made up of the orbiters Enterprise (used only for Approach and Landing Tests at Edwards Air Force Base), Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.

The Space Shuttle vehicle had 2,506,450 parts

— Orbiter: Approximately 2 million

— Solid Rocket Boosters: About 25,000

— External Tank: 481,450

The assembled Space Shuttle weighed about 4.5 million pounds at liftoff.

A shuttle could deliver about 37,800 pounds into orbit.

From landing to launch, about a half-million staff-hours were required to prepare for a shuttle mission.

Liftoff

The on-board computers took over at t-minus 30 seconds.

*The Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on its maiden voyage on Dec. 2, 1988. Photo credit: NASA*

The 4.5 million pound Space Shuttle cleared the 347-foot Fixed Service Structure launch pad tower in 7 seconds and was doing 100 mph.

At liftoff, the shuttle was generating seven-and-a-half million pounds of thrust.

Members of the Untied Space Alliance closeout crew assist astronaut Andrew Feustel in the White Room at Launch Complex 39A prior to the liftoff of STS-125 on May 11, 2009. — *Members of the Untied Space Alliance closeout crew assist astronaut Andrew Feustel prior to the liftoff of STS-125 on May 11, 2009. Photo credit: NASA*

The Space Shuttle broke the sound barrier (761 mph) at 52 seconds into the flight.

After two minutes and six seconds of flight, 25 miles high and 28 miles down range, the solid rocket boosters burned out and separated from the shuttle and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean.

The main engines continued on for eight and a half minutes.

At that point, the shuttle had accelerated from zero to more than 17,500 miles per hour in only 8 minutes.

The shuttle orbited the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour – that’s over 25 times the speed of sound.

*The Space Shuttle Discovery approaches the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA*

Orbiter

The orbiter was 122 feet long and 57 feet high, had a wingspan of 78 feet and weighed from 168,000 to 175,000 pounds.

The orbiter was the approximate size of a DC-9 airliner.

The orbiter payload bay was 60 feet long and 15 feet wide, big enough to carry a standard school bus.

Space Shuttle Main Engines

The three main engines on the orbiter each produced 400,500 pounds of thrust when operating at 104 percent at liftoff.

The engines burned for over eight minutes, while together drawing 64,000 gallons of propellant each minute when at full power.

The combined pumping capacity of all three Space Shuttle main engine turbopumps could drain an average-sized swimming pool in 28 seconds.

The three Space Shuttle Main Engines generated about 37 million horsepower and the energy released is equivalent to the output of 23 Hoover Dams.

Solid Rocket Boosters

During liftoff, the Space Shuttle’s two solid rocket boosters provided more than six million pounds of thrust, making them more powerful than 35 Boeing 747s at takeoff.

Each booster was 149.1 feet high and 12.2 feet in diameter and each weighed 1.3 million pounds. They produced 3 million pounds of thrust each after ignition.

A single Space Shuttle motor produced the equivalent of more than 15,400,000 horsepower, roughly as much as 64,000 Corvette automobiles.

These motors were the only solid rocket boosters in the world designed to be retrieved, refurbished and reused.

Three full-size city buses could be parked end-to-end inside the motor case with room to spare. A loaded Space Shuttle motor weighed as much as 36 fully loaded buses, or 305 full-size Cadillac automobiles.

If the heat energy of two motors could be converted completely to electricity, the two-minute firing would produce 2.2 million kilowatt/hours of power, enough to supply the entire power demand of 87,000 homes for a full day.

*One of two retrieval ships returns to with one of the two solid rocket boosters recovered from the Atlantic Ocean off NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: NASA*

The speed of gases escaping through the nozzle opening was more than 2,300 miles per hour, about three times the speed of sound or roughly the speed of a high-powered rifle bullet. The motor produced a plume of flame up to 500 feet long.

The white-hot exhaust gases reach a temperature of 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit when they exited the motor, about two-thirds the temperature of the surface of the sun. That temperature is hot enough to boil melt steel. Despite the extreme temperature, special insulation inside the rocket motor protects the steel case so well that the outside of the case is only about 130 degrees after a firing.

External Tank

An external fuel tank is seen after separation from a Space Shuttle after the three main engines shut down 8 minutes, 30 second after liftoff. — *An external fuel tank is seen after separation from a Space Shuttle. Photo credit: NASA*

The external tank contained the propellant for the three Space Shuttle Main Engines.

The tank stood 154 feet long and 28 feet in diameter. It weighs a total of 1.68 million pounds. Two inner tanks provide a maximum of 145,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and 390,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen.

The external tank carried 1.6 million pounds of fuel, which it dispenses at a rate of more than 1,000 gallons a second.

The external fuel tank separated about 57 miles high and 780 miles down range and it disintegrated as it fell back through the atmosphere.

Thermal Protection System

A technician replaces one of over 25,000 silica tiles that protect the Space Shuttle form the 2,300-degree heat of reentry. — *A technician replaces one of the silica tiles that protect the Space Shuttle from the heat of re-entry. Photo credit: NASA*

Protecting the Space Shuttle crews from the 2,300 degree Fahrenheit heat of re-entry were over 25,000 silica tiles.

Each tile was a different shape, size and thickness, covering each orbiter to provide thermal protection for the vehicle and astronauts.

Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft used ablative heat shields which burned off during reentry and could not be reused.

The thermal protection system tiles for the Space Shuttle kept the orbiters and their crews cool during repeated missions.

Space Shuttle Capabilities

*The Satellite Business Systems-D satellite is deployed from the Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-41D in August 1984. Photo credit: NASA*

No other launch vehicle – either in development or in operation today – could match the Space Shuttle’s capabilities. The missions ranged from deploying spacecraft, the retrieval and return of errant satellites, the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope, deployment of probes to study distant planets, dockings with the Russian space station Mir and assembly of the International Space Station.

As missions became increasingly more challenging over the years, the most adaptable and capable element of Space Shuttle operations proved time and again to be the human crews. Astronaut involvement in space operations provided the unique aspects of observation, interaction and intervention that reduced risk and made the difference between the failure and success of multi-million dollar missions.

During an STS-88 spacewalk, Jerry Ross and Jim Newman complete connections between the U.S.-built Unity node to the Russian-built Functional Cargo Block Zarya module beginning assembly of the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA

*James “Ox” Van Hoften and George “Pinky” Nelson repair the Solar Max Satellite during STS-41C on April 11, 1984. Photo credit: NASA*

The Space Shuttle’s extensive capabilities included:
- Payload deployment
- On-orbit assembly
- Crew transfer
- On-orbit research
- Satellite retrieval and repair
- On-orbit, point-to-point maneuvering of people and cargo
- Cargo return

During the Space Shuttle Program, numerous satellites were deployed including everything from communications satellites to spacecraft that observe changes in global climates. Shuttle crews also deployed three planetary probes and three interstellar observatories.

*The Hubble Space Telescope is deployed on April 25, 1990 by the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-31. Photo credit: Lockheed/IMAX*

On several occasions crews retrieved satellites and made needed repairs or provided service.

On other occasions, satellites were picked up, loaded into the cargo bay and returned to Earth.

Eight space walkers become human satellites, flying untethered, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit or the Simplified Aid for EVA (extravehicular activity) Rescue device.

Crews included foreign nationals from countries such as: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the Ukraine and Switzerland.

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

The Space Shuttle launch site, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, covers 140,000 acres and shares space with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Vehicle Assembly Building

Designed for the assembly of the 363-foot-tall Saturn V moon rockets, the Vehicle Assembly building, or VAB, was built in the early 1960s for stacking the Apollo Program’s Saturn V Moon rockets.

Inside the Vehicle Assembly building, a Space Shuttle orbiter is lifted into a high bay for mating to an external tank and solid rocket boosters. — *Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, a Space Shuttle orbiter is lifted into a high bay for mating to an external tank and solid rocket boosters. Photo credit: NASA*

The VAB was modified at the end of Apollo for the Space Shuttle and now has been modified for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket designed to send crews to destinations such as the Moon and Mars.

The VAB is 525 feet high, 716 feet long and 518 feet wide.

By comparison, the Washington Monument is 555 feet high.

The VAB covers eight acres.

Foundation on 4,225 steel pilings, each 16 inches in diameter driven 160 feet to bedrock.

Yankee Stadium in New York City could be placed on the roof of the VAB with room left to park 2,500 automobiles.

VAB volume: 129 Million Cubic Feet
- By comparison: the Boeing Facility in Everett, Washington, has 160 Million Cubic Feet
- The Pentagon in Washington, D.C., has 77 Million Cubic Feet

Shuttle Landing Facility

The Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, is three miles long with 1,500-foot overruns at each end. It is about twice the length and width of the average commercial airport runway.

The SLF is just over 300-feet wide.

The orbiter flew at speeds of about 212 to 226 miles per hour when it touched down on the SLF.

Mobile Launcher Platform & Crawler Transporter

*The Space Shuttle Columbia rolls to a launch pad mounted to a mobile launcher platform atop a crawler-transporter. Photo credit: NASA*

With the Space Shuttle aboard, the crawler-transporter crept along at the maximum speed of one mile per hour. Unloaded, it could manage about two miles per hour.

With the orbiter mated to the 4.5 million pound Space Shuttle “stack,” the entire vehicle is mounted on an eight-million-pound mobile launcher platform which rolled to the launch pad on the back of a six-million-pound crawler-transporter.
- Crawler-Transporter ———– 6 Million Pounds
- Mobile Launcher Platform – 8 Million Pounds
- Space Shuttle Stack ———— 4.5 Million Pounds
- Total Weight ——————– 18.5 Million Pounds

The crawler-transporter is 131 feet long and 114 feet wide, the size of a major league baseball infield.

The size of a major league baseball diamond, the crawler-transporter weighs over six-million pounds. — The size of a major league baseball diamond, the crawler-transporter weighs over six million pounds. Photo credit: NASA

There are 57 shoes per crawler-transporter belt and each shoe weighs one ton.

The Space Shuttle at times seemed to move at a “snail’s pace” . . . rolling to the launch pad at one mile per hour mounted atop its mobile launcher platform and crawler-transporter. The crawler lumbers along its three and a half mile path to the pad at a “speedy” one-mile per hour — with an economy mileage (or footage) rating of 35 feet per gallon.

Space Shuttle Launch Pads

Prior to the liftoff of STS-125, the Space Shuttles Atlantis is on Launch Complex 39A in the foreground. In the background, Endeavour is at Launch Complex 39B. The pads are about three miles from the Launch Control Center adjacent to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Photo credit: NASA

The two ocean-side Space Shuttle launch pads were originally built in the early 1960s for the Apollo lunar landing missions.

Launch Complex 39-A is historic as it was the place of embarkation for the first Moon landing mission – Apollo 11 – which took Neal Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon for the first lunar landing mission. Apollo 11 launched July 16, 1969. Now it is being leased by SpaceX to launch their Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.

On April 12, 1981, the first Space Shuttle lifted off from Launch Complex 39A with John Young and Bob Crippen aboard.

At seven seconds after lift-off the Shuttle clears the launch tower and control switches from the Kennedy Space Center to Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

In seven seconds, this four-and-a-half million pound Shuttle goes from a standing start to clearing the 347-foot tower and is traveling at 100 miles per hour.