How much does the Space Shuttle weigh? The Space Shuttle weighs 165,000 pounds empty. Its external tank weighs 78,100 pounds empty and its two solid rocket boosters weigh 185,000 pounds empty each. Each solid rocket booster holds 1.1 million pounds of fuel. The external tank holds 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen (1,359,000 pounds) and 383,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen (226,000 pounds). The fuel weighs almost 20 times more than the Shuttle. At launch, the Shuttle, external tank, solid rocket boosters and all the fuel combined has a total weight of 4.4 million pounds. The Shuttle can also carry a 65,000 payload.