THE SPACE SHUTTLE - Serar

The Space Shuttle was created by Nasa as a reusable vehicle for astronauts to go to space and back. The Space shuttle takes off like a rocket but lands on earth just like a glider or aeroplane. The first time the shuttle was launched was in 1981 and flew for over 130 missions. It carried cargo and the crew, some missions it went on were : 

• To build the space station
• Launching satellites

There are 5 different orbiters ( with wings and parts), they are, Colombia, Atlantis, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour. A shuttle is made up of three main parts. The first part is the orbiter. The orbiter is the only part of the shuttle that goes into orbit, this is where the crew, the cargo and the scientists would be located on the rocket. The orbiter would be about the size of a small jet airline but it is still the largest vehicle that has been in orbit. Fun Fact: Did you know that the outside of the orbiter can heat up to 1500°C! The second part is the solid rocket boosters. A shuttle has two rocket boosters -  one on each side. The boosters are there two provide launch but fall off first after take off. The third part is the fuel tank. Fuel tank connects to orbiter and boosters, it carries liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The fuel tank is discarded after each flight. It is the only part that cannot be reused. 

The video above show take off, separation of orbiter and orbiter landing. It shows the Atlantis.