Could the shuttle have made it to the Moon?

Can the Space Shuttle fly to the Moon? A. No, the Shuttle is designed to travel to low-Earth orbit (within a few hundred miles of the Earth’s surface). It does not carry enough propellant to leave Earth orbit and travel to the Moon.

How much fuel does it take to get to the Moon and back?

While the amount of fuel varied, depending on the mission, on average it used a total of 4,578,000 pounds (2,076,545 kg) of fuel. It could lift a payload to low Earth orbit weighing 310,000 lb (140,000 kg), and send a payload of 107,100 lb (48,600 kg) to the Moon.

Could the space shuttle fly?

The Space Shuttle was never designed to fly on it’s on. The wings actually allow it to glide back to earth after re-entry. It needs the chutes to slow down enough for the breaking system to work. The Space Shuttle didn’t have any atmospheric engines, just rocket engines.

What’s the most powerful rocket ever built?

If we use thrust as a measure, the SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever when it flies to space in 2021. The Block 1 SLS will generate 8.8 million pounds (39.1 Meganewtons) of thrust at launch, 15\% more than the Saturn V. In the 1960s, the Soviet Union built a rocket called the N1, in a bid to reach the Moon.

What is the most powerful vehicle ever built?

The Saturn V remains the largest and most powerful U.S. expendable launch vehicle ever built.

Can a space shuttle land on the Moon?

Mentioned article then continues with another point that is limiting Space Shuttle STS (Space Transportation System) vehicle’s actual landing on the Moon, so that’s not applicable to our problem.

How did the Apollo 11 land on the Moon?

On July 19, Apollo 11 neared and went behind the Moon. At 1:28 p.m. EDT, it fired its service module rocket to go into lunar orbit. After 24 hours in lunar orbit Armstrong and Aldrin separated Eagle from Columbia, to prepare for descent to the lunar surface. On July 20 at 4:18 p.m. EDT, the Lunar Module touched down on the Moon at Tranquility Base.

What happened to the Space Shuttle program?

Space Shuttle and International Space Station. A joint decision by the U.S. Air Force and NASA to consolidate Space Shuttle operations at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, following the Challenger accident in 1986, resulted in the official termination of the Space Shuttle program at Vandenberg on December 26, 1989,…

What was the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle used for?

The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle. The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was an electric vehicle designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon and to be capable of traversing the lunar surface, allowing the Apollo astronauts to extend the range of their surface extravehicular activities.