How was the space shuttle mounted on 747?

To load the shuttle onto the jet, NASA uses a giant gantry-like machine called the Mate-Demate device. This contraption uses two 100-foot steel towers with a massive lift beam in between them to hoist the orbiter off the ground.

Why did the space shuttle piggyback on 747?

This was because Edwards Air Force Based served as a secondary landing site for the Space Shuttle, in the event of adverse weather in Florida. Once at the Kennedy Space Center, NASA would perform post-flight processing on it. The aircraft were also used to deliver retired orbiters to their respective museums.

How is the space shuttle moved?

So, the force created by the shuttle’s engines in expelling the burning fuel produces an equal thrust in the opposite direction. This thrust acts on the spacecraft and propels it along.

How is the space shuttle transported from California to Florida?

As you may remember from the days when the shuttle routinely landed here in California, the way you get it back to Florida is by hitching it to a tricked-out jumbo jet. NASA owns a pair of Boeing 747s that stay at Edwards Air Force Base for most of the year awaiting wayward space shuttles.

What happened to the plane that carried the space shuttle?

Shuttle Carrier N911NA was retired on February 8, 2012 after its final mission to the Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards Air Force Base in Palmdale, California, and was used as a source of parts for NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft, another modified Boeing 747.

Why does space shuttle roll after takeoff?

Because the launch pad can’t pivot to the needed angle before liftoff, a shuttle must rotate after launch to adjust. Then the vehicle, which initially moves slightly faster than ISS because it starts off in a lower orbit, can “catch up” to the station and dock with it.

How do Space Shuttles get back to Earth?

Once the orbiter is tail first, the crew fires the OMS engines to slow the orbiter down and fall back to Earth; it will take about 25 minutes before the shuttle reaches the upper atmosphere. …

When was the Endeavour moved?

All four shuttles have been permanently retired from service. Named for the first ship commanded by British explorer James Cook, Endeavour rolled out of an assembly plant in Palmdale, California, in 1991 at a cost of $1.7 billion.

Where is the space shuttle Endeavor?

the California Science Center
Endeavour is currently housed in a temporary structure, the Samuel Oschin Pavilion at the California Science Center, located in Exposition Park in South Los Angeles about two miles south of Downtown Los Angeles.

Can a 747 fly into space?

The bottom line is that airplanes can’t fly in space because there is no air in space. Airplanes rely on air to produce both lift and propulsion. Since there isn’t any air in space, airplanes must stay within the Earth’s atmosphere.