Jim Butcher: Shuttle Rocket Blasting Off/Space

Artist: Jim Butcher
1944 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1981
Image Size: 26.25 by 16.5 inches
Overall Size: 28 by 18 inches
Medium: Oil on Canvas

The Space Shuttle has three main units: the orbiter, the external tank and two solid rocket boosters. Each booster rocket has a sea-level thrust of 11.6 million newtons (2.6 million pounds). The orbiter is the crew and payload carrying unit of the Shuttle system. It is 37 meters (122 feet) long, has a wingspan of 24 meters (78 feet) and weighs about 68,000 kilograms (150,000 pounds) without fuel, about the size and weight of a DC-9 commercial air transport. The orbiter can transport a payload of 29,500 kilograms (65,000 pounds) into orbit. It carries its cargo in a cavernous payload bay 18.3 meters (60 feet) long and 4.6 meters (15 feet) in diameter. The bay is flexible enough to provide accommodations for unmanned spacecraft in a variety of shapes and for fully equipped scientific labs. The orbiter's three main liquid fuel rocket engines each have a thrust of 2.1 million newtons (470,000 pounds). They are fed liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the external tank. This tank is the only part of the Shuttle system that is not reusable. In a typical Shuttle mission, the orbiter's main engines and the boosters ignite from the launch pad. At a predetermined point, the two solid rocket boosters separate from the orbiter and parachute to the sea where they are recovered for reuse. The orbiter continues into space. It jettisons its external tank just before orbiting. The external tank enters the atmosphere and breaks up over a remote ocean area.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the U.S. Space Achievements 18¢ Shuttle Rocket Blasting Off stamp issued May 21, 1981.

Artwork Copyright © 1981 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

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