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The typical Shuttle flight trajectory takes
the vehicle away from the continental United States and over the Atlantic
Ocean. Power is provided by the combination of the orbiter’s three main
engines and the twin SRBs.
A pair of SRBs, fully loaded with
propellant, weigh about 1.4 million pounds (635,040 kilograms) apiece.
They stand 149.2 feet (45.5 meters) tall, and have a diameter of 12 feet
(3.6 meters). The boosters in use today are the largest solid propellant
motors ever developed for space flight and the first to be used on a
manned space vehicle. These boosters will propel the orbiter to a speed of
3,512 miles per hour (5,652 kilometers per hour).
At approximately two minutes after the
Space Shuttle lifts off from the launch pad, the twin SRBs have expended
their fuel. The boosters separate from the orbiter and its external tank
at an altitude of approximately 30.3 statute miles (26.3 nautical
miles/48.7 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. After separation,
momentum will propel the SRBs for another 70 seconds to an altitude of
44.5 statute miles (38.6 nautical miles/71.6 kilometers) before they begin
their long tumble back to Earth.
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