Why did Space Shuttle launch upside down?

When the Shuttle prepares to depart it’s position orbiting the Earth, the first thing it must do is slow down. The Shuttle is slowed by firing the two smallest of the five nozzles on the back of the craft. The deceleration provided ‘flips’ the Space Shuttle over by standing it on end, which puts the belly down.

Why did the Saturn V roll?

This is a piggyback on Dave Mohr’s answer. Saturn V executed a roll program for the same reason that most other launch vehicles have also, to simplify calculation and execution of engine pitch and yaw commands by pointing either the vehicle’s pitch or yaw axis, after pitch over, toward the earth.

How did the Space Shuttle roll?

The roll program tells the engine nozzles how much to gimbal, or swivel, to aim the shuttle properly, Mr. Herring said. It goes straight up for only a short time, then rolls to take advantage of Earth’s rotation under it to get into orbit.

How does the Space Shuttle roll after takeoff?

So, after lift off we have to roll to achieve that heading as the orbiter continues through ascent. It’s achieved by gimbling the main engines itself – the three SSME – the main engines – and also by gimbling the two solid rocket booster nozzles to achieve that roll profile.

Why do rockets tilt after takeoff?

Rockets have to tilt to the side as they travel into the sky in order to reach orbit, or a circular path of motion around the Earth. This steering technique is known as a gravity turn, which uses Earth’s gravity to help conserve rocket fuel and minimize stress and strain on the spacecraft.

What atmosphere do space shuttles fly?

thermosphere
Above: The space shuttle orbits in the thermosphere, a tenuous layer of our atmosphere that gets hotter and expands during solar maximum. The puffed-up thermosphere increases drag on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Why do rockets spin in space?

In flight, the fins of the rocket produce aerodynamic forces. These forces are applied at the center of pressure of the rocket which is some distance from the rocket cg and produce torques (or moments) about the principal axes. The torques cause the rocket to rotate.

How did the Space Shuttle control pitch?

In the upper reaches of the atmosphere the vehicle’s motions of yaw, pitch and roll are controlled by the RCS engines. As the atmosphere thickens, the airplane control surfaces become usable. The orbiter re-enters the atmosphere at a high angle of attack (about 30 degrees).

Why do rockets have to throttle down?

For many rockets, if launched at full throttle, the aerodynamic forces would be higher than what they can withstand. For this reason, they are often throttled down before approaching max q and back up afterwards, so as to reduce the speed and hence the maximum dynamic pressure encountered along the flight.