The space shuttle is very fast. It can reach speeds of 17,400 miles per hour! It takes off like a rocket and lands like a plane.
There are many parts on a shuttle. The crew compartment is where the astronauts live and work. The crew compartment has three decks. The flight deck contains the controls, the seats and the aft deck. The mid- deck contains the living area, storage space, exercise equipment and an entry hatch. The lower deck contains life support equipment and electrical systems.
Other parts of the shuttle include the fuselage. The forward fuselage contains the support equipment for fuel. The mid-fuselage contains the gas tanks and wiring that connects the crew compartment with the aft engines. This also forms the floor of the cargo bay. The aft fuselage contains the main engines.
The forward reaction control system module contains the forward rocket jets. They turn the orbiter in different directions. The movable air lock is used for spacewalks and can be placed inside the crew compartment or the cargo bay.
The cargo bay doors are important for cooling the orbiter. The 2 OMS/RCS pods are used for turning the orbiter and changing orbits.
There are also airplane parts of the orbiter. These are used for flying the shuttle when it lands. Examples of these are the wings, the tail and the body flap.
There are three main rocket engines. Two of the engines are on the side of the tail. Heat insulation, felt, and tiles are found on the outside of the orbiter. The nose cone protects the shuttle from the heat of reentry, which is 2300 F. The main fuel tank contains liquid fuel. It burns up when the shuttle falls back to Earth.