Final Project

Kristopher F.

Legislator:  Troy Fraser, Senator

(Click on the image above to enlarge.)         

My Favorite Topic: Transportation

We travel in buses, cars, subways, and trains, but the most intriguing mode of transportation has to be the space shuttle.  Traveling at blackout speeds to over come gravity.  It is what gets us to space, gets us to the moon, and will ultimately get us to Mars.  In order for us to go to mars though, the space shuttle will need a few improvements.  At the moment though the space shuttle is the top of the line in travel.

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) developed the shuttle in the 1970s to serve as a reusable rocket and spacecraft.  It was first launched on April 12, 1981.  The space shuttle was initially used to deploy satellites in orbit, to carry scientific experiments such as Spacelab, perform experiments in the shuttle's cargo bay, and to carry out military missions.  As the program advanced, the space shuttle has also been used to service and repair orbiting satellites and to retrieve and return to the earth previously deployed spacecraft.  The space shuttle is designed to leave Earth as a vertically launched rocket weighing up to 4.5 million pounds with 7 million pounds of thrust from its multiple propulsion systems. The orbiter segment returns from space withstanding the intense heat when entering Earth's atmosphere. Flown by the shuttle crew much like an airplane, the shuttle lands horizontally on a conventional airport runway.  The space shuttle system remains the most technologically advanced and complex machine in the world.  It consists of the orbiter, propulsion systems, two solid rocket boosters, three main engines, and an external fuel tank. The orbiter is both the brains and heart of the space shuttle.  It contains the latest advances in flight control, thermal protection, and liquid-rocket propulsion.  The orbiter is composed of the pressurized crew compartment, the huge cargo bay, and the three main engines mounted on its aft and rear.  The crew cabin has three levels, the flight deck, the mid-deck, and the utility area.  The flight deck is where the commander and pilot control the craft, surrounded by an array of switches and controls.  The galley, toilet, sleep stations, and storage and experiment lockers are found in the mid-deck.  Also located in the mid-deck are the side hatch for passage to and from the vehicle before and after landing, and the airlock hatch into the cargo bay and space.  The cargo bay can accommodate satellites, spacecraft, and scientific laboratories.

It is my opinion that the space shuttle is the most advanced of any kind of aircraft in the world.  It has taken many astronauts to space and has brought them back safe and sound.  The space shuttle has had a few mishaps, but it is still is one of the safest mode of transportation.  Some day it may even be the craft that saves the human race.  If an asteroid threatens the earth and we have tried unsuccessfully to stop it, the space shuttle may be the only thing to save us by taking people to the moon or even Mars.  I have created a space shuttle and have submitted that picture.  It may someday be just like the design that has ability to make it to Mars, with a few more improvements.

In conclusion, until we create a new space shuttle to take us to Mars or some other planet, we will stick with the space shuttle we have today.  Mars may not be to far away and we must continue to work as hard as we can to improve the space shuttle now in order to get to Mars later.  Lets face it our lives may one day depend on the development of the space shuttle and if programs like the Texas Aerospace Scholars do not continue we may never have a generation that is interested in space, and then we may never get to Mars.

Sources:

http://www.searchedu.com/ - search (space shuttles)

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

http://www.ask.com/ - search (space shuttles)

Last Updated: 09/07/01