1. The Space Shuttle

2. The Shuttle’s mission  The purpose of the space shuttle is to bring supplies, equipment, and people to the International Space Station (ISS).

3. The shuttle’s mission  When completed, the ISS will serve as a launch pad for future missions to the Moon, to Mars, and beyond.

4. Launching a shuttle  A space shuttle needs a great amount of thrust to leave the Earth’s gravity.  They use rockets to reach the speed they need to escape the planet’s pull. (approx. 3000km/h)

5. Launching…  The fuel shuttles use in their rocket engines is extremely explosive.  When the shuttles engines burn the fuel, huge amounts of thrust are created.

6. Launching…  To go fast enough to escape Earth’s gravity, these engines need to burn a lot of fuel.  In 8 minutes, the shuttle burns over 1.9 million litres of fuel.

7. Components of a shuttle  The shuttle consists of 3 parts that make it able to reach space: 1.Orbiter: the part that carries the crew and payload. It has three main engines that fire during the launch. It also has to smaller engines that adjust the orbiter’s position in space.

8. Components of a shuttle 2. Solid Rocket Boosters: these two boosters are filled with a solid fuel and have their own engines. These are used up during the launch and are let go once their job is done. They splash down in the ocean and are retrieved to be used again.

9. Components of a shuttle 3.External Fuel Tank: this large fuel tank carries the fuel that the shuttle’s main engines burn during the launch. When the tank is empty, it is released and it burns up as it reenters the atmosphere. External Fuel Tank The big orange thing isn’t a rocket, it’s just the gas tank!

10. The launch  From launch to orbit, it doesn’t take long for a space shuttle to get into space.  First, the main engines fire and then the solid rocket boosters fire and the shuttle lifts off.

11. The launch  Two minutes later the boosters have used up all their fuel and detach from the shuttle. They splash down in the Atlantic.

12. The launch  After eight minutes, the fuel tank is empty and detaches to falls into the atmosphere, where it burns up and is destroyed.

13. Let’s watch

14. A different view

15. Another view

16. Then...

17. In Space

18. In space

19. Life in the shuttle

20. Working in space with the Canadarm

21. Saving money and resources  One main benefit to using the space shuttle is that it’s reusable. It lands like an airplane and can be fixed up for another trip.