stackyFACTSOnce the shuttle dropped out of orbit, its engines were completely useless. The pilot had exactly one chance to nail the landing on a runway because there was absolutely no way to go around for a second try. They were essentially flying an immensely heavy, multi-million-dollar brick.
Keep exploring facts in this topic.
Transport →STACKY FOR IPHONEKeep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
If you routinely complain about your oversized SUV’s terrible gas mileage, take deep solace in the fact that you are not actively flying a space shuttle.…
Discover more
NASA doesn't do anything quietly. The three main engines on the rear of the now-retired Space Shuttle combined with the solid rocket boosters to create 7.8…
Discover more
Smuggling a highly unauthorized corned beef sandwich onto the Gemini 3 spacecraft in 1965 remains one of the most hilariously dangerous things ever done in…
Discover more
Government space orbiters were originally pitched as a cheap, reusable delivery truck for low Earth orbit, promising weekly launches that would make…
Discover more
Spacesuits worn by modern astronauts are officially classified as the smallest possible, single-occupant spaceships because they independently provide all the…
Discover more
Moving a retired spacecraft through Los Angeles streets required chopping down hundreds of trees just so the wings would fit. The massive vessel crawled…
Discover more