Space Shuttle Orbiter Kit - (1/100)
Item #60401

Product Description

Shuttle between the Earth and Space
It took billions of dollars to launch various artificial
sattelites and spaceships. But all of these things were discarded
after one-time use. This was too uneconomical and made it rather
difficult to utilize space for human beings. The space shuttle
is a new means of transportation devised to solve the problem and
promote space development more economically. The shuttle means a
bus, truck, train, etc. making frequent trips back and forth.
The space shuttle, as the name implies, is a linear between the
Earth and space and is often called "space ferry"...
Space Shuttle
The space shuttle basically comprises an orbiter, external fuel
tank (ET) and two solid fuel rocket boosters (SRB). The orbiter
plays the most important role, while the external fuel tank and
rocket boosters are means for sending the orbiter into space.
When the space shuttle is launched, the external fuel tank
carries one rocket booster on each side and the orbiter on its
back. The orbiter detaches the external fuel tank and rocket
boosters on the way and performs various duties in space. It
comes back to the Earth and undergoes maintenance and repair.
Then, it is launched again with an external fuel tank and rocket
boosters. At the time of launching, the whole space shuttle is
about 56 meters long and weighs about 2,000 tons. It takes off
with a thrust nearly 3,000 tons by fully operating the two rocket
boosters and the three main engines of the orbiter.
Particulars of Orbiter
The Orbiter, which is the most important constituent of the space
shuttle, is a spaceship shaped like a stocky passenger plane
with a delta wing. The overall length is 37 meters and the span
is 23.7 meters. After reentry into the atmosphere, the orbiter
can glide down and make a landing unlike conventional spaceships.
After maintenance and repair, it can be launched again.
Most of the surface of the orbiter is covered with tiles made of
silica of very high purity. These tiles are classified into two
groups. One for high temperature and the other for low
temperature, and these are used accordingly. Parts which become
extremely hot such as the nose and the front edge of the wing are
covered with heat resistant material of reinforced carbon. These
heat resistant materials protect the orbiter from heat of
friction which exceeds 1,400 degrees celcius in some parts at the
time of launching or reentry into the atmosphere. Thus, they
make it possible to use the orbiter no less than 50 or 100 times.


The fuselage of the orbiter is partitioned into the cockpit and
crew compartment in front, payload compartment at the center for
carrying cargo, and engine room at the rear. The crew are four to
seven. In addition to two pilots and one mission controller who
controls the flight plan, the orbiter can carry four scientists
and payload controllers who load and unload cargo for operation
and experiments in space. This is a characteristic feature of the
orbiter not ever seen in conventional spaceships. Furthermore,
the scientists need only a few weeks training before getting in
the orbiter. No space suit is needed inside it and they can act
in ordinary clothes.

The payload compartment is of a cylindrical shape 4.5 meters in
diameter and has a cargo rack 18 meters long. Its top consists of
large doors which open right and left from the center. Various
things are put in this compartment. the maximum capacity is 29.25
tons.

From Exploration to Utilization of Space
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union succeeded in launching
Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite in the world. And on
January 31, 1958, the United States launched Explorer I. Thus
human beings took the first step to the advance into space. Early
in the 1960's, manned space flights were repeated with the
Russian Vostok and American Mercury spaceships as the start. In
1969, Project Apollo at last placed astronauts on the moon. Human
beings tried to send space probes to other planets. To begin
with, they were sent to Mars and Venus which are near to the
Earth. The next targets included Mercury and Jupiter, and Saturn
and Uranus which are very far from the Earth, and even the
outside of the solar system. At the same time as such challenges
to unknown space, a large number of meteorological sattellites
and communication satellites were launched. And in the 1970's,
the Skylab Project of the United States and the Soyuz and Salyut
spaceships of the Soviet Union let astronauts stay in space for a
long time and make observations and experiments in the fields of
astronomy, chemistry, biology, etc. While the challenges to
space and explorations of it were continued, attempts were made
to utilize space for human life and some of them have been
already successful. To promote the utilization of space further,
the Space Shuttle Project was started in 1972 by NASA (National
Aeronautics and Space Administration)of the United States. Great
hopes are entertained of the project which will open a new era of
space.
NASA's spacecrafts are currently used for human spaceflight
missions. The Orbiter is commonly used as a means of
transportation for astronauts and is also used for delivery of
scientific equipment, satellites, and so on. The Space Shuttle is
well-known around the world, and gets plenty of attention in
Japan thanks to the exploits of Japanese Astronauts Mr. Mamoru
Mori and Ms. Chiaki Mukai. Mr. Mori is a veteran of two space
flights and trained and worked as a Payload Specialist. Ms. Mukai
has also taken part in two space flights as a Payload
Specialist, and is famous for being the first Japanese woman to
go into space.

Special re-release of the 1/100 Space Shuttle Orbiter plastic
model.
The new kit package features an awe-inspiring image of space.
Kit also includes new slide decals to depict current space
shuttle markings.

Suggested Paint Colors

TS-27 - Matte White
TS-29 - Semi Gloss Black
TS-6 - Matt Black
X-18 - Semi Gloss Black
XF-19 - Sky Grey
XF-53 - Neutral Grey
XF-56 - Metallic Grey