
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction of the last space shuttle main engine, or SSME, scheduled to be built at Kennedy by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne before the end of the Space Shuttle Program is under way in the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility. Three main engines are clustered at the aft end of the shuttle and have a combined thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds. Each engine utilizes liquid hydrogen for fuel and liquid oxygen as oxidizer and operates during the entire eight-and-a-half minute ride to orbit. Post-flight inspections and maintenance of each engine also are conducted in the SSME Processing Facility between shuttle missions. Photo credit: NASA_Jack Pfaller
Most NASA images are in the public domain and free to use. Credit NASA as the source. Check NASA's media usage guidelines for details. Images featuring identifiable individuals may require additional permissions.
NASA ID
2010-3068
Date Created
April 26, 2010
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Photographer
NASA_Jack Pfaller
Download this image in multiple resolutions. All NASA media are free for public use.
Large
1920px