With its fuel spent, the tank separated and fell along a planned trajectory. (Image credit: NASA)Īfter the solid rocket boosters separated, the orbiter carried the external tank to about 70 miles (113 km) above the Earth. Once empty, this huge orange tank separated from the rest of the apparatus and fell back to Earth.

It served as the 'gas tank' for the space shuttle on launch. The external tank was the only part of the space shuttle not reused from launch to launch. Ships recovered them, and they were refurbished for reuse. About 24 miles (45 kilometers) up, the boosters separated from the external tank and descended on parachutes into the Atlantic Ocean. The solid rocket boosters (SRBs) operated for the first two minutes of flight to provide additional thrust needed to get the shuttle into orbit. The orbiter, which contained the crew cabin, payload bay, and three main engines.The huge rust-colored external tank, which fed fuel to the three main engines during launch.Two solid rocket boosters, which provided most of the shuttle's thrust during launch.The space shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System, was made up of three main components : (Image credit: NASA/Dick Clark ) Space shuttle elements and launch Space shuttle Atlantis is seen through the window of a Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) as it launches from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the STS-135 mission, Jin Cape Canaveral, Fla., on the final shuttle mission.

Who was on the space shuttle endeavour