NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256.544.0034)
News release: 05-042


How many companies does it take to build three major elements for one of the most complex machines ever built -- NASA's Space Shuttle?

More than 300 companies in 36 states -- from large aerospace companies with hundreds of employees to small companies with only a few workers -- produce the components required to build the Shuttle's Main Engines, External Tank and the twin Solid Rocket Boosters that hold the Reusable Solid Rocket Motors.

"Our Shuttle propulsion suppliers play a critical role in the nation's space program and in returning the Space Shuttle to safe flight," said Michael U. Rudolphi, manager of the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. With the hardware and components built by NASA suppliers, aerospace prime contractors integrate the propulsion elements into the Space Shuttle system. The propulsion system provides the thrust that launches and accelerates the Orbiter to an orbital velocity of 17,500 mph -- 25 times faster than the speed of sound -- in just over eight minutes.

Suppliers in your area are making an important contribution to the nation's space program and their work has a positive impact on your local community's economy. A list of suppliers, with city and state where located is available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2005/shuttle_suppliers.html

STS-114, the Space Shuttle's Return to Flight mission, is targeted for launch no earlier than May 15. The mission will carry a seven-member crew aboard the Discovery orbiter to the International Space Station to test and evaluate new procedures for flight safety, Shuttle inspections and repair techniques.

Returning the Shuttle to safe flight is the first step in the Vision for Space Exploration. The Vision also calls for completion of the International Space Station, a vital research platform for human endurance in space and a test bed for technologies and techniques that will enable longer journeys to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

During launch, the Shuttle's three Main Engines, which are mounted in the aft fuselage of the Orbiter, produce more than 375,000 pounds of thrust: four times that of the largest engine flown on commercial jets. It takes more than a half-million gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to fuel the engines. In fact, the three engines burn propellant at a rate that would drain an average-size swimming pool in 20 seconds.

The 153.8-foot long External Tank holds the propellant. Known as the structural backbone for the Shuttle, the tank supports the vehicle on the launch pad and absorbs the 7.3 million pounds of thrust generated during launch. Yet, its aluminum skin is less than a half-inch thick. If a soft drink can were expanded to tank size, its skin would be slightly thicker than the tank's skin.

Despite their power, the Main Engines alone cannot boost the vehicle to orbit. During the first two minutes of launch, the two Solid Rocket Boosters generate 85 percent of the necessary thrust and host the largest solid propellant rockets ever flown. Together these combine to produce more than 6-million pounds of thrust -- in just over two minutes -- for the boost from the launch pad.

The Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at the Marshall Center manages the External Tank, Solid Rocket Boosters, Reusable Solid Rocket Motors and Main Engines. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company manufactures the tank at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The Main Engines are built by Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power Division of the Boeing Company in Canoga Park, Calif. The engine turbopump is built by Pratt and Whitney of West Palm Beach, Fla. The booster is built and refurbished by United Space Alliance at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Solid Rocket Motors are manufactured by ATK Thiokol in Brigham City, Utah For more information on the Web about STS-114 and America’s return to spaceflight, visit:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/

For more information on the Web about NASA’s mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov


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