Why did they stop painting the main fuel tank on the space shuttle?

NASA stopped painting its space shuttles’ external fuel tank because the paint did not improve performance and they wanted to reduce the shuttle’s overall weight.

Did the space shuttle have internal fuel tanks?

The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) was the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contained the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer….Space Shuttle external tank.

General characteristics
Diameter	8.4 m (27.6 ft)
Gross mass	760,000 kg (1,680,000 lb)
Space Shuttle ET
Powered by	3 RS-25 mounted on the orbiter

What happens to the space shuttle fuel tank?

During launch, tank and boosters are jettisoned and fall back to Earth after a shuttle’s initial push to the sky. Unlike the boosters, however, the external tank is not collected and reused. Instead, the tanks are discarded to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Did the space Shuttle help build the ISS?

The shuttle had given the world ample ways to evolve concepts of space station modules, including a European Space Agency-built Spacelab and an American-built Spacehab. Each module rode in the payload bay of the Orbiter.

Why is the Space Shuttle fuel tank orange?

The orange color comes from insulation that covers the vehicle’s liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks. This is the same reason that the space shuttle’s external fuel tank was orange.

How much fuel did the Space Shuttle use?

At liftoff, the two Solid Rocket Boosters consume 11,000 pounds of fuel per second. That’s two million times the rate at which fuel is burned by the average family car. The twin Solid Rocket Boosters generate a combined thrust of 5.3 million pounds.

Why is the space shuttle fuel tank orange?

What kind of fuel did the space shuttle use?

liquid hydrogen
The Space Shuttle’s large External Tank is loaded with more than 500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, which are mixed and burned together to form the fuel for the orbiter’s three main rocket engines.

What fuel does space shuttle use?

Can only US astronauts work on the ISS?

A: The ISS missions, called expeditions, usually last about six months. There are three to six crewmembers on board at all times. Professional astronaut crews come from the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe.

Why are space craft painted white?

NASA astronauts wear white suits, since white is the color that reflects the most sunlight in space, and protects them from cancer-causing solar radiation. When they first launch though, astronauts wear orange instead, since the bright color makes it easier for them to be spotted and rescued in an emergency.

What will happen to the Space Shuttle’s external fuel tank?

Notably, Buzz Aldrin and others proposed different ideas for reuse of the tank in orbit, and allegedly NASA said that they would be willing to take external tanks to orbit if a private company would use them. No private effort ever stepped up to the plate. Now that the Shuttle has been retired no more external tanks will be taken up.

What is the only component of the Space Shuttle that is not reused?

The tank is the only component of the Space Shuttle that is not reused. Approximately 8.5 minutes into the flight, with its propellant used, the tank is jettisoned.

Do we still use external tanks in space?

No, the previously used External Tanks (ETs) disintegrated in the atmosphere before they fell into the sea. Notably, Buzz Aldrin and others proposed different ideas for reuse of the tank in orbit, and allegedly NASA said that they would be willing to take external tanks to orbit if a private company would use them.

Why didn’t NASA have foam insulation tanks in orbit?

NASA did have tentative plans for utilization of the tanks in orbit. These plans were scrapped, however. The primary factors being (1) decreased payload capacity to stable orbit †, (2) risk of insulating foam falling off and becoming space debris, and (3) lack of need for large tanks in orbit during the majority of the Space Shuttle Program era.