Space Shuttle program | National Air and Space Museum
The Space Shuttle program ran from presidential approval in 1972 to its end in 2011. It was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the United States and NASA. The Space Shuttle, officially known as the Space Transportation System (STS), was the first reusable spacecraft to carry humans into orbit.
Space Shuttle Discovery | National Air and Space Museum
Discovery is an example of a Space Shuttle orbiter, a component of NASA’s Space Transportation System (STS). The STS consisted of a combination of a Space Shuttle orbiter, solid rocket boosters, and a fuel tank. Discovery was the third Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle to fly in space. It entered service in 1984 and retired from spaceflight in ...
When Enterprise Met Discovery | National Air and Space Museum
Aug 31, 2018 · Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future ...
The First Space Shuttle: 40 Years Since STS-1
Apr 12, 2021 · The legacy of the Space Shuttle program was to some degree built around the results of its very first mission. The reusable spaceplane, the Space Shuttle, ushered in a new era of human spaceflight 40 years ago this week with the launch of STS-1 on April 12, 1981.
Space Shuttle Astronauts Tell All - National Air and Space Museum
Sep 20, 2023 · The space shuttle was the most important program in NASA’s history. The shuttle was not only a groundbreaking spacecraft—a reusable, winged spaceplane—but it gave the United States a versatile work and science platform with which to …
Space Shuttle Discovery | National Air and Space Museum
Discovery was the third Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle to fly in space. It entered service in 1984 and retired from spaceflight as the oldest and most utilized orbiter.
Launch Complex 39: From Saturn to Shuttle to SpaceX and SLS
May 22, 2020 · Space Shuttle Atlantis launches from Pad 39A on the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program. After the last shuttle mission in 2011, NASA, once again looking for ways to save money, decided to lease out Pad 39A. After a contentious bidding process, it awarded a 20-year lease to SpaceX in 2013/14.
Shuttle Service to DC | National Air and Space Museum
Apr 19, 2012 · Much to the delight of large crowds below, Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), made several passes over the Washington, DC area yesterday. Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA's shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles.
Training for the Shuttle: From the Personal Papers of Sally Ride …
Dec 1, 2021 · In the era of the Space Shuttle from the 1980s to the early 2010s, NASA astronauts would receive numerous information booklets and other written materials which would explain to them how to operate the Space Shuttle. The Museum's Archives holds two rich collections related to this intense technical training in the personal papers of Sally K. Ride and David M. Brown.
Crew Escape System, Space Shuttle - National Air and Space …
NASA added crew escape systems to the Space Shuttle orbiters after the 1986 Challenger tragedy. This equipment was removed from Discovery after its last flight (STS-133 in 2011) so NASA could release the high-tension springs for safety before delivering the orbiter to …