The rotation of the Earth has a significant bearing on the payload capabilities of the Space Shuttle. A due east launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida uses the Earth's rotation as a launch assist, since the ground is turning to the east at the point at a speed of 915 miles (1,473 kilometers) per hour.
photo by Joshua S. Mussaf
The Space Shuttle Columbia's aft compartment, including the tail and main engines, are seen in this photograph taken during the Kennedy Space Center's Open House on April 13, 1991.
Spacecraft and other items of payload arrive at the Kennedy Space Center and are assembled and checked out in special buildings before being loaded into the orbiter. Each shuttle arrives as a set of component part. The Solid Rocket Booster propellant segments are received and checked out in a special facility, then take to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and stacked on a mobile launcher platform to form two complete rockets. The External Tank is received and prepared for flight in the VAB, then mated to the solid rockets.
photo by Joshua S. Mussaf'
After spending months in the Orbiter Processing Facility to bring the orbiter to flight ready status, the Space Shuttle Endeavour is rolled over to the Vehicle Assembly Building on March 7, 1992, in preparation for it's maiden flight on May 7.
An Orbiter is checked out in the Orbiter Processing Facility, then moved to the VAB and attached to the External Tank. A giant crawler-transporter picks up the mobile launcher platform and the assembled Shuttle and takes them to the pad. The Shuttle remains on the platform until liftoff.
photo by Joshua S. Mussaf
After mating with the External Tank and the Solid Rocket Boosters, upper left, the Space Shuttle Endeavour prepares for the six hour journey to the launch pad in this photograph taken on April 23, 1993.
The orbiter's main engines ignite first and build to full power before the huge solid rockets ignite and liftoff occurs. The solid rockets burn out after about two minutes, are separated from the tank, and parachute into the ocean about 160 miles (258 kilometers) from the launch site. Two special recovery ships pull the parachutes out of the water and tow the rocket casings to land, where they are refurbished and sent back to the manufacture to be refilled with propellant.
photo by Joshua S. Mussaf
Heading straight up into space, the Space Shuttle Endeavour rises from the launch pad on September 12, 1992, on STS-47, Spacelab Japan. This on-time liftoff, at the opening second of the first launch opportunity, was the 50th launch of the shuttle program.
The orbiter continues on into space -- a total of over eight minutes of burn-time on the three main engines -- and then separates from the External Tank. The latter breaks up as it reenters the atmosphere over an uninhabited area of the Indian Ocean.
On most missions the orbiter enters an elliptical orbit, then coasts around the Earth to the opposite side. The Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines then fire long enough to stabilize and circularize the orbit. On some mission the OMS engines are also fired soon after the tank separates, to place the orbiter at a desired altitude for the second burn that circularizes the orbit. Later OMS burns can raise or adjust this orbit, if required by the needs of the mission. The OMS engines are used for major maneuvers in orbit, and to slow the vehicle for re-entry at the end of the mission. A typical Shuttle flight lasts from two to ten days, but modifications now being performed will enable some orbiters to stay in space for experiments lasting several weeks.
NASA photo
The orbiter Columbia glides down on Runway 33 of the Shuttle Landing Facility following the successful completion of STS-52 on November 1, 1992.
After deploying the payload spacecraft, operating the on board scientific instruments, taking observations, etc., the orbiter reenters the atmosphere and lands, normally at either the Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force Base in California. Unlike prior manned spacecraft, which followed a ballistic trajectory, the orbiter has a cross range capability (can move to the right or left off the straight line or its entry path) of about 1,270 miles (2,045 kilometers). The landing speed is from about 212 to 2 26 miles (341 to 364 kilometers) per hour. The orbiter is immediately "safed" by a ground crew with special equipment, the first step in the process which will result in another launch of this particular orbiter. When the Shuttle lands in California, the Shuttle rides atop a special modified Boeing 747 aircraft back to the Kennedy Space Center.
photo by Joshua S. Mussaf
The Space Shuttle Atlantis returns to the Kennedy Space Center aboard one of NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on May 29, 1994, after the orbiter underwent modifications and upgrades in California that lasted more than one year.
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