Technical data

Space Shuttle orbiter illustration

Space Shuttle drawing

Space Shuttle wing cutaway

Space Shuttle Atlantis transported by a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), 1998 (NASA).

Space Shuttle Endeavour being transported by a Boeing 747.

Space Shuttle Orbiter and Soyuz-TM (drawn to scale).

An overhead view of Atlantis as it sits atop the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) before STS-79. Two Tail Service Masts (TSMs) to either side of the orbiter's tail provide umbilical connections for propellant loading and electrical power.

Water is released onto the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39A at the start of a rare sound suppression system test in 2004. During launch, 300,000 US gallons (1,100 m³) are poured onto the pad in only 41 seconds.

Two Space Shuttles sit at launch pads. This particular occasion is due to the final Hubble servicing mission, where the International Space Station is unreachable, necessitating having a Shuttle on standby for a possible rescue mission.

Orbiter specifications^[23] (for Endeavour, OV-105)

• Length: 122.17 ft (37.237 m)
• Wingspan: 78.06 ft (23.79 m)
• Height: 58.58 ft (17.86 m)
• Empty weight: 172,000 lb (78,000 kg)^[24]
• Gross liftoff weight: 240,000 lb (110,000 kg)
• Maximum landing weight: 230,000 lb (100,000 kg)
• Main engines: Three Rocketdyne Block IIA SSMEs, each with a sea level thrust of 393,800 lbf (1.752 MN) at 104% power
• Maximum payload: 55,250 lb (25,060 kg)
• Payload bay dimensions: 15 by 59 ft (4.6 by 18 m)
• Operational altitude: 100 to 520 nmi (190 to 960 km; 120 to 600 mi)
• Speed: 7,743 m/s (27,870 km/h; 17,320 mph)
• Crossrange: 1,085 nmi (2,009 km; 1,249 mi)
• Crew: Varies. The earliest shuttle flights had the minimum crew of two; many later missions a crew of five. Today, typically seven people fly (commander, pilot, several mission specialists, and rarely a flight engineer). On two occasions, eight astronauts have flown (STS-61-A, STS-71). Eleven people could be accommodated in an emergency mission (see STS-3xx).

External tank specifications (for SLWT)

• Length: 46.9 m (154 ft)
• Diameter: 8.4 m (28 ft)
• Propellant volume: 2,025 m³ (534,900 US gal)
• Empty weight: 26,535 kg (58,500 lb)
• Gross liftoff weight: 756,000 kg (1,670,000 lb)

Solid Rocket Booster specifications

• Length: 45.46 m (149 ft)^[25]
• Diameter: 3.71 m (12.2 ft)^[25]
• Empty weight (per booster): 68,000 kg (150,000 lb)^[25]
• Gross liftoff weight (per booster): 571,000 kg (1,260,000 lb)^[26]
• Thrust (at liftoff, sea level): 12.5 MN (2,800,000 lbf)^[11]

System Stack specifications

• Height: 56 m (180 ft)
• Gross liftoff weight: 2,000,000 kg (4,400,000 lb)
• Total liftoff thrust: 30.16 MN (6,780,000 lbf)