Admin Table of Contents
What can cause a space shuttle to explode?
The disintegration of the vehicle began after a joint in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The failure was caused by the failure of O-ring seals used in the joint that were not designed to handle the unusually cold conditions that existed at this launch.
Is it cold in the space shuttle?
It was this forecast of very cold temperatures that caused concern among scientists and engineers with the space shuttle program. The solid rockets were rated to be flown at temperatures of 39 degrees Fahrenheit and higher.
Can the space shuttle still fly?
The Space Shuttle was retired from service following Atlantis’s final flight on July 21, 2011. The U.S. relied on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to transport astronauts to the ISS from the last Shuttle flight until the launch of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission in May 2020.
Has anyone blown up in space?
On 28 January 1986 the Challenger space shuttle blew up 73 seconds after take-off, owing to a failure on a sealant ring that allowed hot gas from the boosters used to lift the craft in the first two minutes of flight to hit the huge main external tanks containing hydrogen-oxygen fuel.
Who is the oldest person to go into space?
Wally Funk
You did it! This morning Wally Funk, age 82, who once trained to be an astronaut in the 1960s as one of the Mercury 13, became the oldest person ever to fly to space.
What space shuttle blew up in 1983?
Challenger
Named after the commanding ship of a nineteenth-century scientific expedition that traveled the world, Challenger was the second Space Shuttle orbiter to fly into space after Columbia, and launched on its maiden flight in April 1983….Space Shuttle Challenger.
| Challenger | |
|---|---|
| End of life | Explosion during launch |
| Space Shuttle orbiters Discovery → |
How cold is deep space?
about -455 degrees Fahrenheit
Far outside our solar system and out past the distant reachers of our galaxy—in the vast nothingness of space—the distance between gas and dust particles grows, limiting their ability to transfer heat. Temperatures in these vacuous regions can plummet to about -455 degrees Fahrenheit (2.7 kelvin).
Why doesnt the sun shine in space?
In space or on the Moon there is no atmosphere to scatter light. The light from the sun travels a straight line without scattering and all the colors stay together. Since there is virtually nothing in space to scatter or re-radiate the light to our eye, we see no part of the light and the sky appears to be black.
Why did NASA stop going to the moon after Apollo 17?
But in 1970 future Apollo missions were cancelled. Apollo 17 became the last manned mission to the Moon, for an indefinite amount of time. The main reason for this was money. The cost of getting to the Moon was, ironically, astronomical.
Would a body decompose in space?
If you do die in space, your body will not decompose in the normal way, since there is no oxygen. If you were near a source of heat, your body would mummify; if you were not, it would freeze. If your body was sealed in a space suit, it would decompose, but only for as long as the oxygen lasted.
How does the space shuttle travel in low Earth orbit?
The shuttle or anything in low earth orbit has to travel about 17,500 miles per hour, and that is roughly ten times the speed of a rifle bullet. If you think a rifle bullet is moving fast — just imagine the orbiter.
Why does heat shield on Space Shuttle burn up?
When it gets hot enough, the material on the shield burns up and causes a chemical reaction that pushes the hot gas away from the spacecraft.” Those early reentry vehicles were designed for one-time use, but when the Space Shuttle was being designed as a reusable spacecraft, NASA designers needed a reusable heat shield.
Why did the Space Shuttle Challenger break up?
Both Challenger and Columbia broke up due to a loss of control of the shuttle causing it to be put under aerodynamic forces beyond the vehicle’s structural limits.
How many miles per hour does a space shuttle travel?
Gee, that’s an easy one! The shuttle or anything in low earth orbit has to travel about 17,500 miles per hour, and that is roughly ten times the speed of a rifle bullet. If you think a rifle bullet is moving fast — just imagine the orbiter. It’s moving about ten times that speed.