Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System

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"Orbital Maneuvering System" redirects here, but can refer to any system used to modify a spacecraft's orbit. For the similarly-named Gemini component, see Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System.

Space Shuttle OMS/RCS Pod
OMS Pod removal.png
The underside of a left OMS/RCS pod on Space Shuttle Endeavour
ManufacturerAerojet
Country of originUnited States
Used onSpace Shuttle
General characteristics
Length21.8 feet (6.6 m)
Width
  • 11.37 feet (3.47 m) (aft)
  • 8.14 feet (2.48 m) (forward)
Launch history
StatusRetired
Total launches135
Successes
(stage only)		134
Lower stage
failed		1 (STS-51-L)
First flightSTS-1 (12 April 1981)
Last flightSTS-135 (8 July 2011)
OMS Engine
P5161 AJ10-190
P222826.7 kilonewtons (6,000 lbf)
Specific impulse316 seconds (vacuum)
Burn time
  • 15 hours (maximum service life)
  • 1250 seconds (deorbit burn)
  • 150–250 seconds (typical burn)
PropellantMMH/N
2O
4
Aft Primary RCS
P516Primary RCS engines
P22283.87 kilonewtons (870 lbf)
Burn time
  • 1–150 seconds (each burn)
  • 800 seconds (total)
PropellantMMH/N
2O
4
Aft Vernier RCS
P516Vernier RCS engines
P2228106 newtons (24 lbf)
Burn time1–125 seconds (each burn)
PropellantMMH/N
2O
4

The Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) is a system of hypergolic liquid-propellant rocket engines used on the Space Shuttle. Designed and manufactured in the United States by Aerojet,[1] the system allowed the orbiter to perform various orbital maneuvers according to requirements of each mission profile: orbital injection after main engine cutoff, orbital corrections during flight, and the final deorbit burn for reentry.[2] From STS-90 onwards the OMS were usually actually ignited part-way into the Shuttle's ascent for a few minutes to aid acceleration to orbital insertion. Notable exceptions were particularly high altitude missions such as those supporting the Hubble Space Telescope, or those with unusually heavy payloads such as STS-93/ Chandra. An OMS dump burn also occurred on STS-51-F, as part of the Abort to Orbit procedure. [3]

The OMS consists of two pods mounted on the orbiter's aft fuselage, on either side of the vertical stabilizer.[2] Each pod contains a single AJ10-190 engine,[4] based on the Apollo Service Module's Service Propulsion System engine,[citation needed] which produces 26.7 kilonewtons (6,000 lbf) of thrust with a specific impulse (Isp) of 316 seconds.[4] The oxidizer-to-fuel ratio is 1.65-to-1, The expansion ratio of the nozzle exit to the throat is 55-to-1, The chamber pressure of the engine is 8.6 bar.[2] The dry weight of each engine is 260 pounds. Each engine could be reused for 100 missions and was capable of a total of 1,000 starts and 15 hours of burn time.[2]

These pods also contained the Orbiter's aft set of reaction control system (RCS) engines, and so were referred to as OMS/RCS pods. The OM engine and RCS both burned monomethylhydrazine (MMH) as fuel, which was oxidized with dinitrogen tetroxide (N
2O
4), with the propellants being stored in tanks within the OMS/RCS pod, alongside other fuel and engine management systems.[5] When full, the pods together carried around 4,087 kilograms (9,010 lb) of MMH and 6,743 kilograms (14,866 lb) of N
2O
4, allowing the OMS to produce a total delta-v of around 305 metres per second (1,000 ft/s) with a 29,000-kilogram (64,000 lb) payload.[5][6]

  • Diagram of OMS pod components

    Diagram of OMS pod components

  • An OMS pod detached from an orbiter for maintenance

    An OMS pod detached from an orbiter for maintenance

Proposed OMS Payload Bay Kit

It was never built, but to augment the OMS an OMS Payload Bay Kit was proposed.[7] It would have used one, two or three sets of OMS tanks, installed in the payload bay, to provide an extra 150 m/s, 300 m/s or 450 m/s( (500 ft, 1000 ft/s or 1500 ft/s) of delta-V to the orbiter.[7] The orbiter control panels had related switches and gauges but they were nonfunctional.[8]: 1–2 

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System.
  1. ^ D. Craig Judd (1992). "Capability and flight record of the versatile space shuttle OMS engine". Space Technology and Science. NASA. Bibcode:1992spte.symp..107J.
  2. ^ a b c d "Orbital Maneuvering System". NASA. 1998. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
  3. ^ Legler R. D. and Bennett F. V. (2011). "Space Shuttle Missions Summary, NASA TM-2011-216142" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b Encyclopedia Astronautica (2009). "OME". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b NASA (1998). "Propellant Storage and Distribution". NASA. Archived from the original on 10 February 2001. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
  6. ^ David Palmer, Allie Cliffe and Tim Kallman (9 May 1997). "Spacecraft Fuel". NASA.
  7. ^ a b SHUTTLE PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS USING AN OMS PAYLOAD BAY KIT 1991
  8. ^ Orbital Maneuvering System Workbook 2006

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