SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITER & BOEING 747 'SHUTTLE CARRIER AIRCRAFT'

The exploration of outer space is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. With man's first steps into space and the moon, the future of Earth has been pushed onto new tracks. The first rockets designed for space travel, however, could only be used once, which resulted in increasing costs for the expeditions. It soon became clear that the successful conquest of space could not continue with the use of such costly technologies. In 1972, NASA, the American Space Agency began researching a reusable spacecraft. The result of the project was a combination of a rocket and an aircraft known as a space shuttle. The shuttle with a huge fuel tank can be launched into space thanks to the power of three own engines and two auxiliary rockets. By itself, the ferry reaches the dimensions of a medium-sized airliner, carrying a crew of around seven, most of all cargo. The space shuttle fleet has given us new opportunities to develop our activities in space. Satellites can be placed in orbit by space shuttles, as well as components of space stations that can be used in the future as starting points for further space exploration.The Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet is a four-engine, wide-body, long-range low-wing passenger jet in the American low-wing configuration. The drive is provided by four Pratt and Whitney JT9D or PW4000 or Rolls-Royce RB211 or General Electric CF6 or GEnx engines. The flight of the prototype took place in 1969, and serial production started in 1970 and is still ongoing. By April 2017, 1,531 Boeing 747s had been produced. Airplanes of this type are characterized by two passenger decks, which significantly increased the number of passengers - depending on the version - from 366 to 568! Several major development versions of this very successful aircraft were produced in the course of serial production. The first mass-produced was the Boeing 747-100, but the Boeing 747-200 model was quickly put into service, with improved performance and flight range. Later, the 747-400 version was offered, which turned out to be the most popular of all produced. It was characterized by improved aerodynamic properties and increased passenger compartment capacity.