The nal frontier

Since 1981, NASA space shuttles have been rocketing from the Florida coast into Earth orbit, carrying over 350 people into space and travelling more than half a billion miles, more than enough to reach Jupiter. And now, as the shuttle program comes to an end, we look back at the machine that has made it all possible.

IN MINUTES

News and events visually

Space shuttle:

56.1 m Orbiter: 37.2 m 17.4 m

Length

Height Orbiter on runway

The space shuttle system

3, 2, 1... Blasto !

The space shuttle consists of three major components: the Ortibter which house the crew; a large External Tank that holds fuel for the main engines; and two Solid Rocket Booster which provide most of the Shuttles lift during the rst two minutes of ight. All of the components are used exccept for the external fuel tank, which burns up in the atmosphere after each launch.

Nose cap Four booster separation motors Frustum

Includes 3 main parachutes

External Tank
Liquid oxygen (LOX) tank Intertank Lox feedline bellows Bipod assembly Liquid hydrogen tank

Forward skirt

When the shuttle is ready to launch the main engines light up and the solid rocket boosters re The SRBs push gases down at high speeds and the shuttle reacts by lifting o . It takes only seconds to clear the launch pad. Two minutes later the shuttle drops the boosters. They fall into the ocean and special boats retrieve them to be used again The orbiter and external tank continue to y. When the external tank is empty, the orbiter drops it. It breaks apart into pieces and falls into the ocean. The engine cuts off as the crew arrives in orbit. It only take 8.5 minutes for the shuttle to arrive in space.

2 million kgs 24 m
Wingspan

Lifto weight

Includes guidance gyros

Solid rocket motor

Forward segment

Solid rocket motor

Forward center segment

185-643 kms 27,875 kph 870 million kms

Total distance travelled Velocity

Orbit

Solid Rocket Booster

Solid rocket motor
Aft center segment

External tank attach ring Solid rocket motor

Aft segment

The heaviest Orbiter, Columbia, weighed in at 80,730 kgs. The heaviest Aftican Elephantt weights 5,987 kgs. It would take approximately 13.4 African Elephants to equal the weight of Space Shuttle Columbia.

Weight of Orbiter

Aft skirt

Maneuvering System pod

Main engines

Includes steering system

Nozzle extension

Cut o before ocean impact

Orbiter Atlantis
Crew cabin

Payload doors

The Atlantis will be the 135TH and FINAL FLIGHT of NASAs 30-year shuttle program

1,310 days
Total program costs

Total time in ight

$196 billion

Sources: nasa.gov, Graphic News

SUSAN BATSFORD, GRAPHICS EDITOR, TWITTER @SBATS1; INFOGRAPHIC BY TARA MARTIN/QMI AGENCY