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Space Shuttle program

The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official name, Space Transportation System (STS), was taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development.[1] It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips.

Program overview

United States

Crewed orbital flight

Completed

US$196 billion (2011)

1972–1986 1988–2003 2005-2011

  • ALT-12
  • August 12, 1977 (1977-08-12)

  • STS-1
  • April 12, 1981 (1981-04-12)

  • STS-135
  • July 21, 2011 (2011-07-21)

133

2 (STS-51-L and STS-107)

1 (STS-83)

The Space Shuttle, composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank, carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would reenter the Earth's atmosphere and land like a glider at either the Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force Base.


The Shuttle is the only winged crewed spacecraft to have achieved orbit and landing, and the first reusable crewed space vehicle that made multiple flights into orbit.[a] Its missions involved carrying large payloads to various orbits including the International Space Station (ISS), providing crew rotation for the space station, and performing service missions on the Hubble Space Telescope. The orbiter also recovered satellites and other payloads (e.g., from the ISS) from orbit and returned them to Earth, though its use in this capacity was rare. Each vehicle was designed with a projected lifespan of 100 launches, or 10 years' operational life. Original selling points on the shuttles were over 150 launches over a 15-year operational span with a 'launch per month' expected at the peak of the program, but extensive delays in the development of the International Space Station[2] never created such a peak demand for frequent flights.

Background[edit]

Various shuttle concepts had been explored since the late 1960s. The program formally commenced in 1972, becoming the sole focus of NASA's human spaceflight operations after the Apollo, Skylab, and Apollo–Soyuz programs in 1975. The Shuttle was originally conceived of and presented to the public in 1972 as a 'Space Truck' which would, among other things, be used to build a United States space station in low Earth orbit during the 1980s and then be replaced by a new vehicle by the early 1990s. The stalled plans for a U.S. space station evolved into the International Space Station and were formally initiated in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, but the ISS suffered from long delays, design changes and cost over-runs[2] and forced the service life of the Space Shuttle to be extended several times until 2011 when it was finally retired—serving twice as long as it was originally designed to do. In 2004, according to President George W. Bush's Vision for Space Exploration, use of the Space Shuttle was to be focused almost exclusively on completing assembly of the ISS, which was far behind schedule at that point.


The first experimental orbiter, Enterprise, was a high-altitude glider, launched from the back of a specially modified Boeing 747, only for initial atmospheric landing tests (ALT). Enterprise's first test flight was on February 18, 1977, only five years after the Shuttle program was formally initiated; leading to the launch of the first space-worthy shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. The Space Shuttle program finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011, retiring the final Shuttle in the fleet. The Space Shuttle program formally ended on August 31, 2011.[3]

Spacelab

[10]

Construction of the (ISS)

International Space Station

Crew rotation and servicing of and the International Space Station (ISS)

Mir

Servicing missions, such as to repair the (HST) and orbiting satellites

Hubble Space Telescope

Human experiments in (LEO)

low Earth orbit

Hubble Space Telescope

orbit

Space Shuttle missions have included:

– lost 73 seconds after liftoff, STS-51-L, January 28, 1986

Challenger

– lost approximately 16 minutes before its expected landing, STS-107, February 1, 2003

Columbia

Advanced Crewed Earth-to-Orbit Vehicle

Johnson Space Center concept for a follow-on, with 2 boosters and 2 tanks mounted on its wings.[41]

Shuttle II

Rockwell X-30

VentureStar

Lockheed Martin X-33

(ended with Constellation cancellation)

Ares I

Orbital Space Plane Program

The carried the mobile launcher platform and the Space Shuttle from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Complex 39, originally built for Project Apollo.

crawler-transporter

The (SCA) were two modified Boeing 747s. Either could fly an orbiter from alternative landing sites back to the Kennedy Space Center.[72]: I–377, 382  These aircraft were retired to the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at the Armstrong Flight Research Center and Space Center Houston.

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

A 36-wheeled transport trailer, the Orbiter Transfer System, originally built for the 's launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California (since then converted for Delta IV rockets) would transport the orbiter from the landing facility to the launch pad, which allowed both "stacking" and launch without utilizing a separate VAB-style building and crawler-transporter roadway. Prior to the closing of the Vandenberg facility, orbiters were transported from the OPF to the VAB on their undercarriages, only to be raised when the orbiter was being lifted for attachment to the SRB/ET stack. The trailer allowed the transportation of the orbiter from the OPF to either the SCA "Mate-Demate" stand or the VAB without placing any additional stress on the undercarriage.

U.S. Air Force

The (CTV), a modified airport jet bridge, was used to assist astronauts to egress from the orbiter after landing. Upon entering the CTV, astronauts could take off their launch and reentry suits then proceed to chairs and beds for medical checks before being transported back to the crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout Building. Originally built for Project Apollo.

Crew Transport Vehicle

The was used to transport astronauts from the crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout Building to the launch pad on launch day. It was also used to transport astronauts back again from the Crew Transport Vehicle at the Shuttle Landing Facility.

Astrovan

The three locomotives serving the , used to transport segments of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters, were determined to be no longer needed for day-to-day operation at the Kennedy Space Center. In April 2015, locomotive No. 1 was sent to Natchitoches Parish Port and No. 3 sent to the Madison Railroad. Locomotive No. 2 was sent to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in 2014.[73]

NASA Railroad

Many other vehicles were used in support of the Space Shuttle program, mainly terrestrial transportation vehicles.

Public Domain This article incorporates from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

public domain material

Footnotes


Citations

Shuttle Reference manual

Archived February 9, 2021, at the Wayback Machine

Orbiter Vehicles

Shuttle Program Funding 1992 – 2002

NASA Space Shuttle News Reference – 1981 (PDF document)

R. A. Pielke, , Aviation Week, issue 26. July 1993, p. 57 (.pdf)

"Space Shuttle Value open to Interpretation"

Official NASA Mission Site

NASA Johnson Space Center Space Shuttle Site

Official Space Shuttle Mission Archives

NASA Space Shuttle Multimedia Gallery & Archives

Shuttle audio, video, and images

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the Space Shuttle

U.S. Space Flight History: Space Shuttle Program

Weather criteria for Shuttle launch

Consolidated Launch Manifest: Space Shuttle Flights and ISS Assembly Sequence

USENET posting – Unofficial Space FAQ by Jon Leech