Space Shuttle: how it works

 Looking at how complex a space shuttle is there are three main components. There are two solid rocket boosters. They produce about 80 percent of the thrust from the launch. There is the external tank. It is the rusty colored large thing that is attached to the space shuttle. It feeds fuel to three motors during launch. It holds hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel. The last and most important thing of course is the orbiter, or the common shuttle, which the astronauts live in during their duration in space. It also orbits the earth or anywhere else. It has landing gear and also gear to attach to the International Space Station. The last updates to any shuttle were in 2005 when they redesigned the external tank.

Ryba, J. (2011, July 28). Space Shuttle. Retrieved October 19, 2011, from NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/vehicle/index.html