The Challenger was launched into space for the first time on 4th April 1983. Communication and research satellites were transported into space, on-the-spot repairs were carried out and the American space station was built up and provisioned. From 1983 onwards, with the completion of more orbiters, NASA considerably intensified their scientific experiments and strategic military activities in collaboration with the US Air Force. The first space shuttle to be launched into space on 12th April 1981 was the Columbia. The Enterprise served for testing flying and landing characteristics in the atmosphere and for the development of the space shuttles. The orbiter prototype, the Enterprise was completed in 1976. It can carry a payload of 30 tonnes into an orbit up to 965 km above the earth. The overall weight of the space shuttle ready for launch is 2,055 tonnes. It has 6 degrees of freedom, an overall length of 15.24 m, and while the hold doors are closed, it is folded along the port side of the shuttle.The development of a transport system with reusable main components for NASA began in 1972 at North American Rockwell and a series of other firms. It was built by the Canadian company SPAR AEROSPACE Ltd. Most of the satellites carried by the shuttle require gentle handling and precise alignment in orbit. The length of the rockets is 45.36 m, diameter is 3.708 m. Booster rockets are the largest devices of this type used in space flights. After disconnection and launching, the auxiliary rockets are recovered, overhauled and can be used on one of the next expeditions. Permanent propellants accelerate the space shuttle during the first two minutes of flight and operate in parallel with the three main engines. It is the only non-recoverable component of the shuttle system. His remains fall into the Indian or Pacific Oceans. Upon completion of work (8.5 minutes) after take-off, it is thrown back and disintegrates upon entering the dense layers of the atmosphere. It absorbs the stresses caused by the thrust of booster rockets and main engines. It houses the propellants for the main engines of the shuttle and provides the support structure for the entire system during take-off. Similar in size to a medium-sized passenger jet, eg the DC-9, it is a tailless, cantilevered low-wing double-delta wing, powered by rocket engines. The shuttle is by far the most complex of any aircraft ever built. At take-off, its action in combination with the rest of the elements resembles a rocket, in orbital flight it is an artificial satellite, and when it returns to the ground it becomes a glider. On April 12, 1981, at 700 AM EST, in the presence of approximately one million spectators at Cape Canaveral, COLUMBIA rose into the sky on a pillar of fire and smoke, ushering in the era of reusable space vehicles.ĬHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIAĬonsidering it as an aircraft structure, it is difficult to classify this vehicle as a specific family of flying ships. In fact, this event did not happen until two years later. The success of the ENTERPRISE test flight program suggested that the next shuttle, COLUMBIA, would be launched into orbit in 1979. On January 29, 1979, NASA signed a new contract with ROCKWELL to build new shuttles: CHALLENGER (challenging) DISCOVERY (discovery) and ATLANTIS. On March 27, 1975, assembly of the 0V -102 shuttle, COLUMBIA, began. ENTERPRISE left the assembly station on September 16, 1976, after which it was subjected to tests including approaches and landings, launcher vibration, durability of engines and booster rockets with external tank, and shuttle avionics. Its task was to undergo a test program so that the next shuttle (OV -102) could start flights into orbit after the completion of construction. ENTERPRISE was not intended for space flight. The first of the shuttles, the construction of which began on June 19, 1974, was named ENTERPRISE at the request of viewers of the popular science fiction television series "STAR - TREK", and after the names of two famous U.S.
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