A partly reusable craft built
by the US to send astronauts
into space, the shuttle was
first launched in April 1981.
Space shuttle
How long does it take the orbiter to reach space?
282
The universe
The orbiter carries
between five and seven
crew members.
Which bit is that?
The shuttle has three main
components: the orbiter (the plane
part, and the only part that goes
into orbit), a huge fuel tank, and
two rocket boosters.
Ditch the tanks!
The rocket boosters are released
two minutes after launch. They
parachute back to Earth and will
be used again. The tank is discarded
eight minutes after launch, and
breaks up in the atmosphere.
Heat protection
Nearly 25,000 heat-
resistant tiles cover the
orbiter to protect it from
high temperatures
on re-entry.
There are two
rocket boosters, one
on each side. Once
lit, the boosters
cannot be shut off;
they burn until they
run out of fuel.
Main
(external)
fuel tank
W
e
i
r
d
o
r
w
h
a
t
?
Woodpeckers
delayed a space shuttle
launch in 1995 by pecking
holes in the fuel tank’s
insulating foam. Plastic
owls are now used
to frighten other
birds away.
The orbiter’s
engines are used
once the orbiter
reaches space.
