1. How Do Spacecraft Travel to Space Photos March 8, 1994 Cape Canaveral, Florida Kennedy Space Center NASA

2. NASA-Kennedy Space Center

3. Anything we want to send into space must overcome the force of gravity to get there. This is what rockets do. A Russian teacher first thought of using rockets to explore space over a hundred years ago. Today, rockets carry satellites, probes, and other spacecraft into space. The instruments and equipment a rocket carries are called the payload.

5. Launching a space shuttle Like the air in the balloon rocket, the gas in a real rocket is under pressure. It is pushing against the walls of its container. When you let the gas out of one side, the rocket is forced in the opposite direction. The gas in a real rocket is made by burning fuel in an engine.

6. Parts of the Space Shuttle The space shuttle has three main parts. The orbiter is the part that carries the crew and the payload. It has three main engines that fire on launch, and two very small engines that are used to adjust the orbiters position in space. The external fuel tank carries the fuel for the main engines. The solid rocket boosters are filled with fuel and have their own engines.

11. Space Shuttle Question 1 Which part of the shuttle goes into orbit around Earth? What happens to the other parts of the shuttle? Only the orbiter. The external fuel tank and rocket boosters are discarded when they have used up all their fuel; the first is destroyed as it falls through the atmosphere and the latter are picked up and reused.

13. Space Shuttle Question 2 Once the solid rocket boosters use up their fuel and fall off, the shuttle becomes lighter. How do you think dropping the rocket boosters helps the shuttle? The shuttle becomes lighter and can go faster. Imagine running with a full backpack on, then with a backpack that has almost no weight, and finally with no pack at all. Which is easiest to run with?

15. Space Shuttle Question 3 The solid rocket boosters are picked up and reused, but the external fuel tank is destroyed by the heat and friction as it falls through Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists are working to design a reusable external fuel tank. Why do you think it is important to try and reuse as many parts of the space shuttle as possible? It reduces the cost and the amount of debris left in space. It reduces the cost and the amount of debris left in space.