science

Space Shuttle design process

Space Shuttle design process is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Space Shuttle design process rather than just read about it. In short: Before the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, NASA began studies of Space Shuttle designs as early as October 1968. The early studies were denoted "Phase A", and in June 1970, "Phase B", which were more detailed and specific.

Key takeaways

Space Shuttle design process belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Space Shuttle design process to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Space Shuttle design process from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Before the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, NASA began studies of Space Shuttle designs as early as October 1968. The early studies were denoted "Phase A", and in June 1970, "Phase B", which were more detailed and specific. The primary intended use of the Phase A Space Shuttle was supporting the future space station, ferrying a minimum crew of four and about 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of cargo, and being able to be rapidly turned around for future flights, with larger payloads like space station modules being lifted by the Saturn V. Two designs emerged as front-runners. One was designed by engineers at the Manned Spaceflight Center, and championed especially by George Mueller. This was a two-stage system with delta-winged spacecraft, and generally complex. An attempt to re-simplify was made in the form of the DC-3, designed by Maxime Faget, who had designed the Mercury capsule among other vehicles. Numerous offerings from a variety of commercial companies were also considered but generally fell by the wayside as each NASA lab pushed for its own version. All of this was taking place in the midst of other NASA teams proposing a wide variety of post-Apollo missions, a number of which would cost as much as Apollo or more. As each of these projects fought for funding, the NASA budget was at the same time being severely constrained. Three were eventually presented to United States Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1969. The shuttle project rose to the top, largely due to tireless campaigning by its supporters. By 1970 the shuttle had been selected as the one major project for the short-term post-Apollo time frame. When funding for the program came into question, there were concerns that the project might be canceled. This became especially pressing as it became clear that the Saturn V would no longer be produced, which meant that the payload to orbit needed to be increased in both mass - all the way to 60,600 pounds (27,500 kg) - and size to supplement its heavy-lift capabilities, necessary for planned interplanetary probes and space station modules, which meant a bigger and costlier vehicle was needed during Phase B. Therefore, NASA tried to interest the US Air Force and a variety of other customers in using the shuttle for their missions as well. To lower the development costs of the proposed designs, boosters were added, a throw-away fuel tank was adopted, and many other changes were made that greatly lowered the reusability and greatly added to the vehicle and operational costs.

Decision-making process In 1969, United States Vice President Spiro Agnew chaired the National Aeronautics and Space Council, which discussed post-Apollo options for human space activities. The recommendations of the Council would heavily influence the decisions of the administration. The Council considered four major options:

A human mission to Mars Follow-on lunar program A low Earth orbital infrastructure program Discontinuing human space activities Based on the advice of the Space Council, President Nixon made the decision to pursue the low Earth orbital infrastructure option. This program mainly consisted of the construction of a space station, along with the development of a Space Shuttle. Funding restrictions precluded pursuing the development of both programs simultaneously, however. NASA chose to develop the Space Shuttle program first, and then planned to use the shuttle in order to construct and service a space station.

Shuttle design debate

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Space Shuttle design process

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Space Shuttle design process claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Space Shuttle design process before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Space Shuttle design process ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Space Shuttle design process

In research: Space Shuttle design process appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Space Shuttle design process in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Space Shuttle design process is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Space Shuttle program, Spacecraft design, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Space Shuttle design process outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Space Shuttle design process in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Space Shuttle design process means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Space Shuttle design process out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Space Shuttle design process in simple terms?

Why does Space Shuttle design process matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Space Shuttle design process?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Space Shuttle design process.