Where are the 5 space shuttles now?

Where are the 5 space shuttles now?

Retired Space Shuttle Locations

• Shuttle Atlantis – Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
• Shuttle Discovery – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
• Shuttle Endeavour – California Science Center.
• Shuttle Enterprise – Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

What is the big orange thing on the space shuttle?

The external tank, or ET, is the familiar orange structure that dominates most images of the shuttle at liftoff. At more than 15-stories tall, it is the largest single part of a shuttle stack. It gets its signature orange color from the foam insulation sprayed on the tank’s aluminum structure.

What is the farthest the space shuttle has gone?

The record for the farthest distance that humans have traveled goes to the all-American crew of the famous Apollo 13 shuttle, who were 400,171 kilometers (248,655 miles) away from Earth on April 14, 1970.

Why space shuttle painted black?

The tiles exposed to reentry temperatures of up to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit, such as those on portions of the belly, are given a protective coating of black glass. Black tiles work by reflecting about 90 percent of the heat they’re exposed to back into the atmosphere, while the tiles’ interior absorbs the rest.

Why are space shuttles white?

The first two shuttle flights, STS-1 and STS-2, in 1981, featured tanks painted white to protect the shuttle from ultraviolet light while sitting on the launch pad.

What happens to the external fuel tank of the space shuttle?

During launch, tank and boosters are jettisoned and fall back to Earth after a shuttle’s initial push to the sky. Unlike the boosters, however, the external tank is not collected and reused. Instead, the tanks are discarded to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Are we still in touch with Voyager 1?

Because we’re still in communication with Voyager 1, we know the antenna is still pointing toward us, regardless of the strange nature of the telemetry data readings.

How hot does a space shuttle get on reentry?

It converts to heat (from friction) caused by the atmosphere’s molecules striking its leading edges. This heat makes the Shuttle’s surfaces reach temperatures of up to 1477° C (2691° F).

Are space shuttles waterproof?

A white silicon elastomer coating is used to waterproof the felt and provide required thermal and optical properties. FRSI covers nearly 50 percent of the orbiter’s upper surfaces.

Did they find the Columbia astronauts bodies?

The remains of all seven astronauts were recovered, despite the obstacles of terrain and the scope of the search. Searchers combed through pine forests, hundreds of thousands of acres of underbrush, and boggy areas. Parts of the shuttle were found in Lake Nacogdoches and the Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Do space ships get dirty?

Actually, unless your spaceship never had a breathable atmosphere or the atmosphere was vented before the spaceship was abandoned, rust is totally possible on the inside and even the outside. As the oxygen escaped, rust would be produced on any exterior iron in contact with the venting oxygen.

Why did they stop painting the space shuttle fuel tank?

NASA stopped painting its space shuttles’ external fuel tank because the paint did not improve performance and they wanted to reduce the shuttle’s overall weight.

How much fuel is in a space shuttle?

Each solid rocket booster held 1.1 million pounds of fuel. The external tank held 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen (1,359,000 pounds) and 383,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen (226,000 pounds).