kent@vf.jsc.nasa.gov (04/26/91)
From the Johnson Space Center's Space News Roundup Vol. 30 No. 15, April 12, 1991 with a correction in the April 19, edition: "that shows for all intents and purposes, we've launched 1,200 tons of payload every decade. It took us 215 launches in the '60s, 152 launches in the '70s and 102 launches in the '80s. The Shuttle with 4 percent of all U.S. Launches, has launched 41 percent of all the mass. Not including the orbiter." The article means that the Shuttle accounted for 41% of the '80s mass The article also lists the total payload weight to orbit: In 38 shuttle flights (up to and including STS-35): People flown: 199 Days in orbit: 225.07 Man Hours in orbit: 28,688 Orbits: 3572 Max alt average: 189 Statute miles flown: 94,300,612 Total No. Payloads: 292 Orbiter Weight at liftoff (lbs): 9,061,659 Pounds to Orbit ( not including orbiter): 1,055,421 Payload deployed (lbs): 533,898 Payload Returned to Earth (lbs): 546,427 EVA man-hours: 136.66 Also the shuttle has a success to failure ratio of .974 with 1 being perfect. Higher than any other US booster. Ariane, the only other vehicle designed in the '70s and operated in the '80s, had five failures in the first 40 flights. -- Mike Kent - Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company at NASA JSC 2400 NASA Rd One, Houston, TX 77058 (713) 483-3791 KENT@vf.jsc.nasa.gov