KSC Behind the Scenes - Part 3

[specter177]

Main Engine.


They're smaller than I had expected.

[Frequent Flyer]

Lucky you...!
Thanks for sharing  8-)

[B-Valvs]

All 3 parts are awesome. You are really lucky to be ablet o see some of the last shuttle operations close up like this.                                                                                                                                                            8-)

[machineman9]

I was not expecting the engines to be that small either. I mean, they're still fairly big but for the amount of kick they give, they're pretty small. The bulk of them is in the nozzle. There's a whole lot of parts for such a 'simple' reaction to get that shuttle in the air (and out of it)

Great shots.

[a1]

An extraordinary piece of engineering that simple looking engine is.

[TigerAl]

All held together with a piece of string!

[B-Valvs]

1 SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engine):

Thrust(Vac): 490,850 pounds (2.18MN) at 104.5% of Design Thrust

Thrust(SL): 400,000 pounds (1.78MN)

Chamber pressure: 2,747 psi (18.9 MPa) at 100% power

Weight: 7000 LBS

Combustion Chamber Temp: 3300 *C, 6000 *F

Fuel Consumption Rate: 3,917 liters, 1,035 gallons per SECOND

And most of what comes out is water vapor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SSME_ ... onents.PNG

8-)

[machineman9]

And most of what comes out is water vapor.

That's a great thing to remind people when they say that the shuttle is a huge polluter. Instead of making nasty and harmful gases that will destroy the atmosphere, the liquid fuels produce the key thing vital to our survival