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AMAZING FACTS
The maximum equivalent horsepower developed by the three SSMEs is just over 37 million horsepower.
The energy released
by three of Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main engines is equivalent to the output of 13 Hoover Dams.
If water, instead of fuel, were pumped by the three Space Shuttle Main Engines, an average family-sized swimming pool could
be drained in 25 seconds.
Each of the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters burns 5 tons
of propellant per second.
The Space Shuttle main engine weighs 1/7th as much as a train engine, but delivers as much horsepower as 39 train engines.
It only takes the Space Shuttle about 8 minutes to accelerate to its orbital speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour.
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Technical data
Orbiter Specifications (for Endeavour, OV-105)
Length: 122.17 ft (37.24 m)
Wingspan: 78.06 ft (23.79 m)
Height: 58.58 ft (17.25 m)
Empty Weight: 151,205 lb (68,586.6 kg)
Gross Liftoff Weight: 240,000 lb (109,000 kg)
Maximum Landing Weight: 230,000 lb (104,000 kg)
Main Engines: Three Rocketdyne Block 2A SSMEs, each with a sea level thrust of 393,000 lbf (178,261 kgf)
Maximum Payload: 55,250 lb (25,061.4 kg)
Payload Bay dimensions: 15 ft by 60 ft (4.6 m by 18.3 m)
Operational Altitude: 100 to 520 nmi (185 to 1,000 km)
Speed: 25,404 ft/s (7,743 m/s, 27,875 km/h, 17,321 mi/h)
Crossrange: 1,085 nautical miles (2,009.4 km)
Crew: Seven (Commander, Pilot, two Mission Specialists, and three Payload Specialists), two for minimum.
Space Shuttle Atlantis transported by a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), 1998 (NASA)
Solid Rocket Booster Specifications
Length: 149.6 ft (45.6 m)
Diameter: 12.17 ft (3.71 m)
Empty Weight: 139,490 lb (63,272.7 kg)
Gross Liftoff Weight: 1.3 million lb (590,000 kg)
Thrust (sea level, liftoff): 2,800,000 lbf (1,270,000 kgf)
External Tank Specifications
Length: 153.8 ft (46.9 m)
Diameter: 27.6 ft (8.4 m)
Propellent Volume: 535,000 gallon
Empty Weight: 66,000 lb (29,938 kg)
Gross Liftoff Weight: 1.7 million lb (751,000 kg)
System Stack Specifications
Height: 184.2 ft (56.14 m)
Gross Liftoff Weight: 4.5 million lb (2.04 million kg)
Total Liftoff Thrust: 6.779 million lbf (3.07 million kgf)
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