We looked at not only the topline spending at the government agency, but how much it spent across several initiatives related to space exploration and science. Six missions sent astronauts to space with four of those missions completing a total of 34 Earth orbits. The program was notable for missions that included the first American spacewalk, first multiweek space mission and first docking with another space vehicle. The most expensive aspects of the project were the rockets to get astronauts into space and the modules they would travel in.
The technology was used in subsequent missions during the s, including to the Skylab space station and as a part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a joint project with the Soviet Union. In January , months before the final two Apollo missions were flown, President Richard Nixon announced plans for a new way to reach space: the space shuttle.
While most of the vehicles used during missions in the s were used just once in spaceflight, the space shuttle would be a reusable vehicle. Six space shuttle orbiters were built, five of which made it to space.
Between the first Columbia blast off in to the final Atlantis touch down in , the space shuttle completed of missions successfully to orbit.
In , NASA announced the Constellation project, a spaceflight program aimed at returning to the moon by then eventually taking astronauts to Mars. Coupled with a new space launch system, the Orion project aims to bring astronauts back to the moon by The first unmanned Orion launch, Artemis I, is slated to take place in These figures only include line-item spending that explicitly relates to Mars.
NASA has only begun budgeting for commercial spaceflight and cargo projects beginning in This accommodates the crew with a shirt-sleeve working environment. The Airlock, which is typically housed in the crew compartment middeck. The Airlock is 83 inches long and has a diameter of 63 inches.
Two pressurized sealing hatches and a complement of support system hardware are contained in the Airlock. Each sealing hatch has a four-inch diameter observation window.
Depending on the mission application, the Airlock can be positioned in either the crew compartment or the payload bay in support of spacewalk activities. The Airlock can also be modified to employ a tunnel adapter hatch, tunnel adapter and tunnel to allow the crew to enter pressurized modules in the payload bay. The Wings, which provide an aerodynamic lifting surface to produce conventional lift and control for the Orbiter.
The left and right Wings consist of the wing glove and an intermediate section that includes the main landing gear wells. Each Wing is 60 feet long and has a maximum thickness of 5 feet. The Midfuselage, which provides a structural interface for the forward fuselage, aft fuselage and wings. It supports the payload bay doors, hinges, tie-down fittings, forward wing glove as well as various Orbiter system components.
The Midfuselage provides the structural foundation for the payload bay. The Payload Bay Doors, which are opened shortly after orbit is achieved to allow heat to be released from the Orbiter and to allow the release of payloads as necessary.
The two Payload Bay Doors are hinged at the port or starboard side of the midfuselage and are latched at the centerline atop the Orbiter.
Thermal seals on the Payload Bay Doors provide a relatively airtight environment within the payload bay when the doors are closed. This seal is critical when ground operations require equipment and payloads to be maintained within the payload bay. Each Payload Bay Door is 60 feet long by 15 feet wide. The Aft Fuselage, which consists of an outer shell, thrust structure and internal secondary structure.
The Aft Fuselage outer shell allows access to systems installed within the structure. The Aft Fuselage internal secondary structure houses hardware and wiring for auxiliary power unit, hydraulics, ammonia boiler and flash evaporator systems. The Body Flap, which provides a thermal shield for the three Space Shuttle Main Engines during re-entry and provides the Orbiter with pitch control trim during atmospheric flight.
The Vertical Tail provides aerodynamic stability for the Orbiter during flight, and its rudder can be split into two halves to act as a speed brake during landing.
The Space Shuttle Orbiter remains the most complex flying machine ever built, and is made up of operational systems which include:. The Thermal Protection System, which consists of various materials that are applied to the Orbiter external skin to help maintain the skin at acceptable temperatures during flight.
Additional thermal protection is provided by insulation installed inside the Orbiter. Thermal protection materials protect the Orbiter from all temperatures above degrees Fahrenheit experienced during ascent and re-entry. These materials also protect the Orbiter in a range of temperatures from minus degrees Fahrenheit to 3, degrees Fahrenheit experienced while in orbit.
A number of different materials are used in the Thermal Protection System, including reinforced carbon-carbon, black high-temperature reusable surface insulation tiles, black fibrous refractory composite insulation tiles, white low-temperature reusable surface insulation tiles, quilted insulation blankets and more specialized materials. In addition, the Main Propulsion System includes Space Shuttle Main Engine controllers, malfunction detection systems, hydraulic systems, thrust vector control systems and helium, oxidizer and fuel flow sequence systems.
This is made up of two inch disconnects, an External Tank separation system and two Orbiter umbilical doors. The Orbital Maneuvering System, which is made up of two Orbital Maneuvering System engines and all of their related hardware. Each OMS engine burns a combination of monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide liquid fuel, and can produce a thrust of 6, pounds. Each OMS engine can be gimbaled to provide pitch and yaw control for the Orbiter as it maneuvers toward its intended mission orbit.
The Reaction Control System, which is made up of thrusters fired to help the Orbiter achieve a precise orbital path or perform changes in its position, and all of their related hardware. The RCS contains a total of 38 primary thrusters and 6 vernier thrusters. The forward RCS array contains 14 primary thrusters and two vernier thrusters. Each RCS thruster burns a combination of monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide liquid fuel.
Each primary thruster can produce a thrust of pounds, while each vernier thruster can produce a thrust of 24 pounds. The RCS thrusters can be fired in a plethora of combinations depending on the specific mission requirements.
The Electrical Power System, which provides the Orbiter with electricity. In burning the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the Fuel Cell Power Plants are each capable of producing 21, watts of continuous output, plus minute peaks of up to 36, watts. The Environmental Control and Life Support System, which controls and regulates the astronaut life support functions of the Orbiter.
Life support functions include crew compartment pressure, cabin air revitalization, water cooling, temperature control, water supply, waste collection, airlock support and crew altitude protection. The Auxiliary Power Unit System, which is a storable liquid hydrazine-fueled, turbine-driven power unit that generates mechanical shaft power to drive a hydraulic pump that produces hydraulic pressure for the Orbiter hydraulic system.
The Auxiliary Power Unit System is vital to the Orbiter, since it controls hydraulic devices that gimbal the Space Shuttle Main Engines, operate various propellant valves in the Space Shuttle Main Engines and move the Orbiter elevons, body flap and rudder speed brake. Each APU is identical, but each is operated independently of the others. The Water Spray Boiler System sprays water onto the APU lubrication oil and hydraulic fluid lines, thus cooling the fluids within them.
The Hydraulic System is made up of three independent hydraulic systems, each of which is mated to a corresponding APU. The Landing Gear System, which is a conventional aircraft tricycle configuration landing gear consisting of a single forward nose landing gear and a left and right main landing gear.
Each landing gear includes a shock strut with two tire and wheel assemblies. Each main landing gear wheel is equipped with a brake assembly with anti-skid protection. The nose landing gear is steerable. The landing gear are retracted and deployed by hydraulic mechanism, and are locked in position within a wheel well and protected by landing gear doors when not in use. The Caution and Warning System, which is designed to warn the crew of any conditions that may adversely affect the performance of the Orbiter.
The Caution and Warning System primarily consists of a set of visual and aural alarms that alert the crew when any system has exceeded or strayed from its operational limits. The Orbiter Lighting System, which provides both interior and exterior lighting for the Orbiter. Interior lighting is used primarily to support crew operations. Exterior lighting is used primarily to illuminate the payload bay area in order to aid visibility during payload operations and spacewalks.
The Smoke Detection and Fire Suppression System, which is designed to warn the crew of any fires, as well as protect the Orbiter from any fires that might develop.
The system is made up of smoke detectors, portable fire extinguishers and automatic fire extinguishers. The Payload Deployment and Retrieval System, which includes an electromechanical arm that maneuvers a payload from the payload bay and back again, plus all of its related hardware.
The RMS can remove payloads from the payload bay for deployment. It can also grapple free-flying payloads and berth them back in the payload bay. It has been used to grapple satellites and the Hubble Space Telescope for repair and redeployment. The RMS has also acted as an aid to astronauts participating in spacewalks. It has been used as a mobile extension ladder, work station and foot restraint for astronauts working in the payload bay during spacewalks.
Cameras attached to the RMS have also been used to aid astronauts in visual inspections of the payload bay area. The Payload Retention System, which is made up of a wide variety of hardware used to keep payloads secure within the payload bay. The Payload Retention System is designed to provide three-axis support for up to five separate payloads per mission. The Communications System, which consists of all the equipment necessary to support the flow of voice and data transmissions to and from the Orbiter.
The Communications System incorporates a huge and complex network of communications equipment and instrumentation. In addition to allowing both visual and aural communication with the crew, the Communications System supports a constant flow of data regarding the performance of the Orbiter, its systems and its position.
The Avionics System, which controls or assists in the control of most Orbiter systems. Primary functions of the Avionics System include automatic determination of Space Shuttle operational readiness, plus sequencing and control of the Solid Rocket Boosters and External Tank during launch and ascent.
The Avionics System also monitors the performance of the Orbiter, supports digital data processing, communications and tracking, payload and system management, guidance, navigation and control, as well as the electrical power distribution for the Orbiter, External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters. The Avionics System is made up of more than computer black boxes located at various positions in the Orbiter, connected by about miles of electrical wiring. A number of redundant hardware and software back-ups are incorporated within the Avionics System due to its critical nature.
Remarkably, the Avionics System is so complex that it can support fully automatic flight of the Space Shuttle from launch through landing. Although the Space Shuttle is typically guided to the runway manually during landing, the Avionics System can perform all flight functions automatically, with the exception of on-orbit rendezvous. The Purge, Vent and Drain System, which is designed to produce gas purges that help regulate Orbiter temperature, prevent the accumulation of hazardous gases, vent unpressurized compartments during ascent and re-entry, drain any excess trapped fluids and keep window cavities clear.
The Purge, Vent and Drain System is made up of three separate sets of distribution plumbing located throughout the Orbiter. Purge gas consists of cool, dry air and gaseous nitrogen.
Using a number of purge ports and vents, the system maintains constant humidity and temperature and assures that contaminants cannot enter the Orbiter. The Orbiter Flight Crew Escape System, which is a system designed to allow the crew to escape the Orbiter under a variety of flight situations. The Inflight Crew Escape System, introduced after the Challenger accident, allows the crew to bail out of the Orbiter during flight.
It will not, however, allow the crew to escape under circumstances similar to the Challenger accident. To use this system, the Orbiter must be on a level glide path. The specific scenario under which astronauts might benefit from the Inflight Crew Escape System would be if the Orbiter could for some reason not reach a runway. Since astronauts might not survive either a water or land ditching of the Orbiter, the Inflight Crew Escape System does provide significant advantages.
Using the Inflight Crew Escape System, the astronauts would first blow the side hatch door. They would then deploy an escape pole, which extends from the inside to the outside of the Orbiter. All of them advocated an integrated program aimed at getting astronauts to Mars in a series of steps. Those steps involved building a shuttle and a space station, then using the station as a jumping-off point for return trips to the Moon and, eventually, manned missions to Mars.
But Nixon thought all of the proposals were too expensive, so he green-lighted just one aspect of them: the shuttle. As a result, there was not enough money to do these things, either. While the shuttle program has not lived up to the great — and, in hindsight, unrealistic — expectations NASA laid out for it in the early s, it has delivered significant returns over the years, many experts say.
Apollo 17 became the last manned mission to the Moon, for an indefinite amount of time. The main reason for this was money. The cost of getting to the Moon was, ironically, astronomical. Though the U. The Department of Defense and a handful of intelligence agencies are responsible for those space efforts. A Moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon.
This includes both crewed and robotic missions. NASA receives 0. That means the US devotes about 0.
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