Table of Contents
How much fuel does a space shuttle consume?
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.
How much fuel does a fuel cell use?
The fuel cell system can use 60\% of the fuel’s energy—correspond- ing to more than a 50\% reduction in fuel consumption compared to a conventional vehicle with a gasoline internal combustion engine.
How much energy does the space shuttle use?
The nominal power consumption of the Space Shuttle was 7000 W (plus additional power required for payloads it was carrying) and that of the Apollo was ∼1690–4260 W.
How many fuel cells are in a space shuttle?
three
The space shuttle uses three alkaline fuel cells to satisfy all electrical power requirements from pre-launch to post-landing. The space shuttle operates on all three fuel cells in parallel but can operate safely on two fuel cells if there is a problem with one of the fuel cells.
How much fuel does a SpaceX rocket hold?
Its external tank weighed 78,100 pounds empty and its two solid rocket boosters weighed 185,000 pounds empty each. Each solid rocket booster held 1.1 million pounds of fuel. The external tank held 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen (1,359,000 pounds) and 383,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen (226,000 pounds).
Why did NASA use fuel cells?
NASA’s hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are used for many purposes. NASA has relied upon hydrogen gas as rocket fuel to deliver crew and cargo to space. With the recent focus on human missions to the moon and eventually Mars, hydrogen will continue to be innovatively stored, measured, processed and employed.
How fast does the space shuttle burn fuel?
127 s
Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
| General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Maximum thrust | 2,800,000 lbf (12,000 kN) sea level |
| Specific impulse | 242 seconds (2.37 km/s) |
| Burn time | 127 s |
| Propellant | PBAN-APCP |
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.
What kind of fuel does the Space Shuttle use?
As the Shuttle accelerates, the main engines burn a half-million gallons of liquid propellant provided by the large, orange external fuel tank. The main engines burn liquid hydrogen — the second coldest liquid on Earth at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 252.8 degrees Celsius) — and liquid oxygen.
How many pounds of thrust does a space shuttle produce?
They create a combined maximum thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds. As the Shuttle accelerates, the main engines burn a half-million gallons of liquid propellant provided by the large, orange external fuel tank.
How many gallons of hydrogen does a Space Shuttle hold?
The external tank of the shuttle carries about 384,071 gallons (227,800 pounds) of liquid hydrogen, but about 628,540 gal-lons (372,800 pounds) are used in all during shuttle vehicle loading.
How do space shuttles work?
The engines’ exhaust is primarily water vapor as the hydrogen and oxygen combine. As they push the Shuttle toward orbit, the engines consume liquid fuel at a rate that would drain an average family swimming pool in under 25 seconds generating over 37 million horsepower.