Skip to main content
Home
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Header Menu

  • Activities & Multimedia
  • Ask An Explainer
  • About the Exhibit

Section Menu

  • Forces of Flight
    • The Four Forces
    • We Aren't Built to Fly
  • Gravity & Air
    • Gravity
    • Air
    • Buoyancy
  • Aerodynamics
    • Air in Motion
    • Subsonic Wings
    • Factors Affecting Lift
    • Alternative Theories of Lift
    • Pressure Drag
    • Friction Drag
    • Vortex Drag
    • Waves in the Air
    • Shock Waves
  • Propulsion
    • Propellers
    • Engines
    • Rocket Propulsion
    • Vertical Flight
  • Structures & Materials
    • Weight and Strength
    • Materials
    • Hypersonic Vehicles
    • Shaped for Space
  • Flight Dynamics
    • Control Surfaces
    • Roll, Pitch, and Yaw
    • Instruments
    • Gravity in Orbit
    • Newton’s Laws of Motion
    • Kepler’s Laws of Orbital Motion
    • Moving in Space
    • Thrusters and Spinning Wheels
  • Activities
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Ask an Explainer

Q:

What type of rocket does NASA use to send people to space?

A:

Since the Space Shuttle program was retired, NASA has not used its own rockets to send people to space. NASA currently sends crews to the ISS on Russian rockets, but is developing the Space Launch System rocket for future missions.

Ask an Explainer
Posted on February 18, 2015 at 5:41 pm
Categories:
Propulsion
Check out other Questions and Answers

Footer Menu

  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy
  • Kids Online Privacy Statement
  • Contact
  • About the Exhibition
  • Sponsors
  • Donate