Ch8 - Space Shuttle
Space shuttles are the first spacecrafts in history that can be used multiple times.
The first shuttle to fly in space was the U.S. space shuttle Columbia. Throughout its career, it completed 28 missions. Its maiden flight took place on the 12th April 1981.
Space shuttle flights can be manned or completely automated. Their main objective is to deliver into orbit or take down artificial satellites or other objects.
Some flights were focused on research and science. In the cargo hold of the shuttle, one would find high-tech laboratories: physical, biological or medical.
Other flights were aimed at renovation and repair of the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as the construction and support of the International Space Station by transporting astronauts and the necessary equipment.
The shuttle launch countdown happens only after many months of preparation for the flight and lasts three days. The countdown always includes several breaks: the ones that were planned and the ones that weren't expected, but happened because of bad weather conditions and technical issues. During this time, people make repairs and conduct final tests.
Both start and landing of the shuttle are quite complicated processes.
Orbiter, or the actual element of the shuttle is sent into space by rocket boosters. Once they fulfill their purpose, they are jettisonned off.
The return, on the other hand, requires engines to brake. The process looks like this: the shuttle gradually moves into lower orbit, proceeds to glide and lands on special runway. In the last phase, it acts like a glider, so controlling it requires high skill and precision.
Counting from the first flight of Columbia in 1981, there were 136 space shuttle flights. One of them was conducted by the Soviet automated shuttle Buran, but all others were part of the American Space Transportation System. The most recent flight of the Atlantis shuttle took place on the July 8th 2011.
Out of all the complete missions two ended in disaster.
In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed. During ascent, a foam fragment covering fuel tanks broke away, collided with the orbiter wing and damaged it so much that when the orbiter tried to enter the atomsphere, it was destroyed.
The Challenger shuttle also broke down. The catashrophe was caused by an error that occurred in the first second of this mission. It took place in 1986 and contributed to suspending the space missions program for almost three years.
One of the risks that may interfere with the mission is the possibility of collision with space junk. Space debris is any man-made object that no longer serves any purpose and stays on the orbit. Space junk has a variety of sizes: it can be as small as paint detachment, or as large as inactive rockets and satellites.
Another threat for space shuttles is collision with meteorites during ascent.
In order to avoid damage caused by the collision with space debris, scientists developed solutions to neutralize these elements.
One of them is to position the spacecraft rearwards, so that the most dangerous debris hit the cargo bay and the engines.
On some shuttles, additional protection is offered by the Whipple shield. It's made of a thin metal layer spread over, placed some distance from the main spacecraft wall.
In every space mission, it is also important to monitor the area in front of the shuttle. This task wa handled by NORAD, the North American Defense Command Aerospace. Thanks to monitoring, people are able to detect what's ahead and execute the right maneuvers to avoid crashing with space junk.
Despite huge efforts, it's impossible to completely avoid space debris. The first notable event of this kind occured in Challenger: a hole 1 mm wide was created after the vehicle collided with a piece of dried paint. Another serious damage was inflicted to Atlantis: its cooler was damaged in crash with a large plate fragment.
Fortunately, none of these incidents affected completion of the mission.
Build
To build this construction, you will need LEGO Education WeDo
Explore
This is how the complete space shuttle model looks like.
The robot puts your dexterity to test by using a simple game: the brave shuttle pilot must succesfully avoid all asteroids drifting in the space. To steer, you can use the control stick.
The model has three electronic elements.
1. The hub powers the motor and the sensor, it also allows you to program the construction.
2. The motor propels the paper roll with printed asteroids.
3. Thanks to the tilt sensor, you can change the motor power and make the shuttle accelerate or slow down.
1. This is how the asteroid belt looks like in reality.
2. Ends of the paper must be connected with a scotch tape.
1. These two wheels are propelled by the transmission, which is propelled by the motor.
2. The three remaining wheels ensure that the paper rolls correctly and smoothly. Thanks to the rubber tires, the paper does not slide, or stop.
1. This is the space shuttle you will control.
1. The shuttle lays on top of tiles, which makes its movement smooth.
2. On the bottom part of the shuttle, there is a curved slope. It facilitates controlling the vehicle.
1. This is how the model looks like in action. The gear rack under the shuttle is meshed with the gray gear and allows you to control the vehicle.
2. You can control the tilt of the shuttle by using this control stick.
1. The motor propels the gear transmission. It consists of three gears: a large one propelled by the motor, a small one and another large one. This way, the last gear will rotate at exactly the same speed as the first one.
2. The second large gear propels the axle with tires that make the paper roll move.
1. To control power, use the tilt sensor installed in the constrution.
2. Change the position of the sensor by tilting the control stick.
Watch out for asteroids!
Program
The program for the space shuttle will allow you to control the speed of the belt with the control stick, which translates into controlling difficulty of the game.
