New nasa space shuttle full#

Such is life! The Space Shuttle Era officially ended in 2011 with the retirement of the remaining fleet.

Much like the Buran space shuttle developed by the Soviets before the collapse, the DC-3 is one of many concepts that emerged during the Space Age but never got its due. This gives viewers a chance to see what might have been had NASA gone with the DC-3 option instead. A powered landing is also shown, and a final shot of the STS in orbit where it delivers a module to a growing space station. It begins with the DC-3 STS launching atop a 10-engine booster, then relying on two rocket engines to reach LEO. The details are beautifully rendered in the animation. This became the DC-3, a two-stage fully recoverable system with a fixed-winged orbiter mounted on a larger straight-winged booster. The design was later simplified by NASA engineer Maxime Faget, whose previous work included the design of the Mercury capsule. The other proposal, which was passed over, was for a two-stage system designed by engineers at the NASA Manned Spaceflight Center (MSC) and championed by George Mueller. Air Force opted for this design, which is how the Space Shuttle came to be. Advocates for this design emphasized that it would allow for a greater payload capability, though predicted costs would be higher. One called for a fixed-winged orbiter with an expendable propellant tank and solid boosters. In short order, two designs emerged as front-runners. Image capture of the DC-3 animation, showing how it would assist in the creation of a space station. Tre fixed wing provides good subsonic cruise and horizontal landing characteristics which are very similar to present day high performance aircraft.” An important feature of this configuration is that both the orbiter and booster have fixed wings and tail and look similar to conventional aircraft. “ A two stage configuration satisfying these requirements has been conceived by NASA-MSC.

Such a system could achieve a dramatic reduction of operational costs and allow a rapid expansion of space flight. “The growth of future manned space expoloration is dependent upon the development of a reusable space transportation system with operational practices similar to present day air-craft procedures. By December, the MDC issued their final report, titled “ Two Stage-Fixed Wing Space Transportation System.” As is stated in the report: Class III: both a reusable orbiter and a reusable boosterĬoncurrently, NASA’s Mission Design Center (MDC) began considering possible spacecraft designs to fulfill these objectives in July 1969.Class II: multiple expendable rocket engines and a single propellant tank (stage-and-a-half).Class I: a reusable orbiter mounted on expendable boosters.The report also created three classes of a future reusable shuttle: Image capture of the DC-3 STS in flight after the first-stage engine shutdown. This included mission architectures that would complement the achievements of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs and possible spacecraft that would replace the Saturn V super-heavy launch system.

New nasa space shuttle full#

In a lovely video by spaceflight animator Haze Gray Art (YouTube handle Hazegrayart), viewers get a chance to see what a full take-off and landing would have looked like.īefore the Apollo Program had fulfilled its goal of sending astronauts to the Moon to conduct lunar science and “win the Space Race,” NASA was contemplating what its next steps would be. Rather than the reusable Space Transportation System (STS) and expendable external tank (E.T.) and solid rocket boosters (SRB) we all remember, there was also a concept for a fully-reusable two-stage-to-orbit spaceplane (DC-3). There were also tragedies along the way, such as the Challenger(1986) and Columbiadisasters (2003).īut here’s an interesting and little-known fact: the actual design of the Space Shuttle could have been entirely different. For thirty years (1981-2011), this program flew 135 missions, which consisted of orbital science experiments, deploying satellites, launching interplanetary probes, participating in the Shuttle-Mir program, deploying the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and constructing the International Space Station (ISS). For anyone old enough to remember the 1980s, the Space Shuttle was an iconic symbol of spaceflight.