Project Description
The NASA Space Shuttle Program (Space Transportation System) was a US government manned launch vehicle program from 1983 to 2011, with the program officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle
Orbiter is the only winged space shuttle to orbit and land, and the only reusable orbiter that has ever made multiple flights into orbit, in fact 130 times. The space Shuttle was designed to fulfil two basic roles in manned flight simulations:
1. The first goal of the Space Shuttle program was to provide NASA with an efficient, reusable method of bringing astronauts to and from a geosynchronous space station. The space station was to play a central role in scientific research and development.
2. The second goal of the Space Shuttle program was to reduce costs; feasibility and sustainability were objectives vital to the successful completion of the project (history would prove otherwise). In addition, its objective was to function as a multi-purpose vehicle, with a possibility of satellite attached to it.
Roles and Disciplines-Engineering Industry
(i) Disciplines of engineering in NASA Space Shuttle Program
Mechanical Engineering:
Mechanical engineers are found within the faculty of engineering in the Space department. These engineers create, design, and construct mechanical systems which integrate to together to provide benefits to the overall development of the program. One of the most common roles associated with a mechanical engineer is the design and construction of system modules, including heating and cooling, refrigeration and ventilation systems for a more comfortable environment in the aircraft. .
Aeronautical Engineering:
Aeronautical engineering is divided into two categories: Aeronauti...
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...re new fascinating research questions specific to these industries.
The main component of this engineering project, the first manned Space Shuttle orbiter ever to be built, was a terrific achievement that had a tremendous impact on the global level. The technology was reiterated and new components were modified, causing an evolution of the technological features used in the building of the orbiter. These technological impacts are being used today, evolving constantly from the base they were built from. The impacts were also in the environmental level. The use of less expensive equipment, more eco-friendly equipment had everyone thinking about the environment and the effort needed to build upon its sustainability. Inter-generational equity was one of the major talking points that the project brought out, shedding positive light on this very important theme.
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," said by Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 expedition to the moon. No man has ever been to the moon before and NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was the first to get someone to land on the moon. NASA has had many great accomplishments in exploring the "new frontier" that have affected the United States ever since it was first created in July 1958. The idea for NASA first started when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite on October 4, 1957. United States started up its own space travel program and started to work on its own projects that would be better in than the Soviet Union's. This all started the great space race. It was a big race between the Soviet Union and the United States to see who could learn and discover the most. The United States and Soviet Union started building and sending satellites and space ships. Then they tried to see who could make a suit and ship that would be able to allow a living thing to go up in space. They tested out all of the equipment with monkeys and dogs, seeing what would work. Many animals did die in the process but by the results of their testing they were able to build suits and ships that allow human beings to go up in space. Even though they were able to create these machines, that doesn't mean that they didn't have their difficulties and dangers. Two space shuttles were crashed or blown up. There were many key factors that they had learned to fix that resulted in the crashing of those ships. They have made many discoveries and accomplishments like having the first astronauts walk on the moon.
The Orbiter Vehicle (OV) is "the brains and heart of the Space Transportation System" ("The Orbiter," par. 1). Also called the fuselage, it has a cabin for the crew, a large cargo bay and three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs). The forward part of the orbiter is the crew cabin; it is where the cockpit and living quarters can be found and where mission experiments are performed. The middle part of the orbiter is large open bay and it i...
Project Mercury Project Mercury, the first manned U.S. space project, became an official NASA program on October 7, 1958. The Mercury Program was given two main but broad objectives: 1. to investigate man’s ability to survive and perform in the space environment and 2. to develop basic space technology and hardware for manned space flight programs to come. NASA also had to find astronauts to fly the spacecraft. In 1959 NASA asked the U.S. military for a list of their members who met certain qualifications. All applicants are required to have extensive jet aircraft flight experience and engineering training.
Human minds cannot comprehend how colossal an idea like space is. To obtain a firmer understanding of what or who is floating around up there, scientists all around the world invest their entire fortune and lives into exploring the unknown. Many explorations have proven successful in expanding human knowledge about space, but Skylab, America’s first space station, has demonstrated triumphant in three different space missions documenting the foreign world (Dunbar, “Part I”). Skylab Space Station was a revolutionary development in the history of space exploration with its many missions and daily life for its astronauts.
Launch of the herms in 1976 was world’s first direct to home experimental telecommunication satellite.
The final agreed design would feature a reusable spaceplane, a disposable external tank and reusable solid-fuel rocket boosters. The ALT-12 mission was a success by being the first free flight of the space shuttle enterprise.The whole purpose of this mission was just to test the boundaries and flaws that the space shuttle had
Space exploration has came along ways since the first launch. Many break throughs and technological advances have occurred since the begging of our time of exploration in space. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA has helped further the research that has been done in space. This was accomplished by multiple missions to and from space, with different types of spacecrafts. Although some missions had fatalities, each was a learning experience to advance further in the studies of
Before NASA could send humans into space they had to go through a many of test and practice launches so the chance of failure or even death would be lessened or subdued entirely. The first two unmanned missions would be to test the service module engine and the command module heat shield. The
In the United States there is a program that deals with all the science and technology that has to do with space and airplanes, it is called NASA. NASA stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was founded in 1958. Since then NASA has launched many different missions to help expand our knowledge on our solar system. One of these missions was titled Galileo which soul purpose was to collect more data from Jupiter and its surrounding moons. This spacecraft was named after Galileo Galileo, the first modern astronomer.
Its aim was to study the Comet's structure and environment in a detailed manner, along with landing a probe on the surface. It was designed to observe the comet at close range as it changes with the Sun’s heat transformations into the luminous apparition that has frightened and inspired people for centuries. This mission was developed by European Space Agency in 1993 and later received contributions from NASA. Rosetta became the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet, orbit it and deploy a lander to its surface.
The materials to build a shuttle must be top tier materials. Every time a shuttle launches, some parts are damaged beyond repair and must be replaced. Fuel for a shuttle is also expensive. People must be paid to build the ship and must be paid to work ground control. These expenses, along with others, begin to add up quickly. NASA reported that their average launch costs $450 million (2015, Bray). These funds are being used to do scientific research to help society. Spending that much money just to see space seems ludicrous. However, as Greenberg points out in his cartoon, money has power. A study was done in 1980 to see how many were interested in space tourism. This study found that “over 40 million people would like to take a trip on a space shuttle, and some 55 million would like to take a cruise ship-like space trip” (2015, Chang). In 1994 it was projected that space tourism could bring in about $50 million annually (2015, Chang). Comparing $450 million to the projected intake of $50 million shows just how expensive it would be. $50 million is a large price tag for a suborbital
NASA’s research and innovation looked promising, but it came at a cost. Money, resources, and spacecraft accidents, most famously Apollo 13 all hindered NASA’s research. In the 21st century, the debate over funding for NASA is at its peak since the birth of the organization in 1958, especially when there are numerous problems throughout the world. Is the money spent on space exploration worth the advantages and advances it contributes to society? When considering this topic, one might ask themselves, why explore space?
The United States government has made space exploration a high priority, but it at a high cost with a high reward. A new 17.5 billion dollar budget established for 2015 has been set in place for NASA to invest in new shuttles and other technologies required for new exploration (Klotz). Until 2017, which is when the first American shuttles are schedule to be ready, the cost for an American to go to the International Space Station on a foreign shuttle would cost nearly 65 million dollars a seat (Klotz). With the shuttle program that had been around for 30 years coming to an end in 2011 by President Obama, a complete overhaul at NASA is underway. The president reflected on the shutdown of the historic program, “The shuttle did some extraordinary work in low orbit experiments, the International Space Station, moving cargo. It was an extraordinary accomplishment and we’re very proud of the work that it did. But now what we need is that next technological breakthrough.” (Malik- “Obama says last space shuttle launch ends one era, but opens another.”). NASA has its eyes set on capturing an asteroid and placing it in high orbit around the moon for astronauts to explore, an unmanned mission to mars by 2017 that also includes a possible manned flyby mission of Mars and Venus by 2021, and a trip to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, by 2025 (Foust). With these bold goals set for the future, private enterprises do not have the funding for these missions, but thanks to the United States government, NASA will. The Mars mission alone is set to cost around 3.1 billion dollars, the asteroid mission is to cost around 133 million, and the Europa mission already begun budgeting (Leone). President Obama has high expectations for NASA and their missions. The ...
Most people think that the costly downside to funding space exploration is a reason to avoid spending money on sciences and instead spend it on problems here on earth, but such funding for space exploration actually promotes economical as well as scientific benefits. Space exploration is an important expenditure for the high cost because of the potential for numerous benefits such as the possibility to find useful resources to cultivate, space exploration and satellites produce many thousands of jobs in our economy, and it creates and discovers newer and better technologies through research and development.
The modern day space environment is no longer a mystery to humans. Yuri Gagarin of Russia was the first person to experience space adventure in 1961. Since then, technological advances have enabled space exploration, with new discoveries being made from time to time. Scientists have significantly contributed to the development of space tourism. Noteworthy inventions by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have transformed human life through increasing accessibility to space. The agency has made it possible for astronauts to go to the moon and also to walk around planet Mars with robotic automobiles. The invention of the tri-axis control design has had a significant influence on modern space explorations, helping astronauts to effectively focus their satellites on the target. This has been important in increasing efficiency and precision in astronomical discoveries (Birchard, 2003).