"as ""Challenger""s replacement, and was first launched in 1992. In 2003, ""Columbia"" was destroyed during re-entry, leaving just three remaining orbiters. ""Discovery"" completed its final flight on March 9, 2011, and ""Endeavour"" completed its final flight on June 1, 2011. ""Atlantis"" completed the last ever Shuttle flight, STS-135, on July 21, 2011. In addition to their crews and payloads, the reusable orbiter carried most of the Space Shuttle System's liquid-fueled rocket propulsion system, but both the liquid hydrogen fuel and the liquid oxygen oxidizer for its three main rocket engines were fed from an external cryogenic propellant tank. Additionally, two"
"Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle ""Challenger"" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was the second orbiter of NASA's space shuttle program to be put into service, after ""Columbia"". ""Challenger"" was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, in Downey, California. Its maiden flight, STS-6, began on April 4, 1983. The orbiter was launched and landed nine times before breaking apart 73 seconds into its tenth mission, STS-51-L, on January 28, 1986, resulting in the death of all seven crew members, including a civilian school teacher. It was the first of two shuttles to be destroyed in flight, the other being ""Columbia"","
"and transported to the silos for storage. Because of its early loss, ""Challenger"" was the only space shuttle that never wore the NASA ""meatball"" logo, and was never modified with the MEDS ""glass cockpit"". The tail was never fitted with a drag chute – it was fitted to the remaining orbiters in 1992. Also because of its early demise ""Challenger"" was also one of only two shuttles that never visited the Mir Space Station or the International Space Station – the other one being its sister ship ""Columbia"". Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle ""Challenger"" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was the"
"replaced McBride as the commander while Guy Gardner and Mike Lounge replaced Richards and Leestma, respectively. STS-61-E STS-61-E was a United States Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on March 6, 1986 using ""Columbia"". It was cancelled after the ""Challenger"" disaster. ""Columbia"" was to carry the ASTRO-1 observatory, which would be used to make astronomical observations including observations of Comet Halley. ASTRO-1 consisted of three ultraviolet telescopes mounted on two Spacelab pallets, controlled by the Instrument Pointing System which was first tested on STS-51-F. After the ""Challenger"" disaster, the flight was remanifested as STS-35 and several crew members were replaced."
"the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle. However, the entire Centaur-G program was canceled after the ""Challenger"" disaster, and the ""Magellan"" probe had to be modified to be attached to the less-powerful Inertial Upper Stage. The next best opportunity for launching occurred in October 1989. Further complicating the launch however, was the launching of the ""Galileo"" mission to Jupiter, one that included a fly-by of Venus. Intended for launch in 1986, the pressures to ensure a launch for ""Galileo"" in 1989, mixed with a short launch-window necessitating a mid-October launch, resulted in replanning the ""Magellan"" mission. Weary of rapid shuttle"
"in 1981, but the US Congress failed to approve sufficient funds to make ""Freedom"" a reality. A fleet of four shuttles was built: ""Columbia"", ""Challenger"", ""Discovery"", and ""Atlantis"". A fifth shuttle, ""Endeavour"", was built to replace ""Challenger"", which was destroyed in an accident during launch that killed 7 astronauts on 28 January 1986. Twenty-two Shuttle flights carried a European Space Agency sortie space station called Spacelab in the payload bay from 1983 to 1998. The USSR copied the reusable Space Shuttle orbiter, which it called ""Buran"". It was designed to be launched into orbit by the expendable Energia rocket, and"
"in orbit using expendable launch vehicles rather than the shuttle. In August 1986, President Reagan also announced that the shuttle would no longer carry commercial satellite payloads. After a 32-month hiatus, the next shuttle mission, STS-26, was launched on September 29, 1988. Although changes were made by NASA after the ""Challenger"" accident, many commentators have argued that the changes in its management structure and organizational culture were neither deep nor long-lasting. After the Space Shuttle ""Columbia"" disaster in 2003, attention once again focused on the attitude of NASA management towards safety issues. The ""Columbia"" Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) concluded that"
"STS-61-E STS-61-E was a United States Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on March 6, 1986 using ""Columbia"". It was cancelled after the ""Challenger"" disaster. ""Columbia"" was to carry the ASTRO-1 observatory, which would be used to make astronomical observations including observations of Comet Halley. ASTRO-1 consisted of three ultraviolet telescopes mounted on two Spacelab pallets, controlled by the Instrument Pointing System which was first tested on STS-51-F. After the ""Challenger"" disaster, the flight was remanifested as STS-35 and several crew members were replaced. Both Richards and Leestma were reassigned to STS-28 while McBride left NASA in 1989. Vance Brand"
"Shuttle components to replace the Space Shuttle, and enable exploration of the Moon and Mars. The agency also studied a third such vehicle, the Ares IV. As of April 2011, NASA's replacement vehicle for the Space Shuttle is an SDV, the Space Launch System and multiple commercial vehicles. Over the course of the 2010 two different commercial vehicles were developed that use man-rated heavy lift launcher. In the meantime NASA has continued to use the Russian Soyuz, which it also used during the Shuttle program as part of the International Space Station program. SDV concepts were proposed even before the"
"three times as much as the Progress, and were launched annually by Ariane 5 rockets from 2011-2014 as part of ESA contribution to ISS upkeep. The design is currently being adopted as the Service Module of the NASA Orion spacecraft. NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will replace the Space Shuttle, was initially designed to have an unmanned variant of the Crew Module similar to Progress, however this capability has since been removed. SpaceX's commercial (private owned) Dragon spacecraft and Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft also handle American logistics to the International Space Station. RKK Energia has proposed the Parom (""ferry"") spacecraft as"
"per flight. The Shuttle's human transport role is to be replaced by SpaceX's Dragon V2 and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner no later than 2017. The Shuttle's heavy cargo transport role is to be replaced by expendable rockets such as the Space Launch System and SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne was a reusable suborbital spaceplane that carried pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie on consecutive flights in 2004 to win the Ansari X Prize. The Spaceship Company will build its successor SpaceShipTwo. A fleet of SpaceShipTwos operated by Virgin Galactic was planned to begin reusable private spaceflight carrying paying passengers in"
"the Space Shuttle was stopped, and for several years no international astronauts were nominated. Thus, neither the British nor the Indonesian payload specialists got a second chance for a spaceflight. The NASA crew however stayed together and participated in a 56-hour-long simulated mission known as STS-61-MT in 1986. The crew finally flew on STS-29, with Anna Fisher being replaced by James Bagian. Skynet 4A was launched on 1 January 1990 with a Titan III, Westar 6S was renamed Galaxy 6 and launched on 12 October 1992 by an Ariane 44L. Palapa B3 was renamed to Palapa B2P and was launched"
"Space Shuttle, which would be responsible for all government and commercial launches. Production of Delta, Atlas-Centaur, and Titan 34D had ended. The ""Challenger"" disaster of 1986 and the subsequent halt of Shuttle operations changed this policy, and President Ronald Reagan announced in December of that year that the Space Shuttle would no longer launch commercial payloads, and NASA would seek to purchase launches on expendable vehicles for missions that did not require crew or Shuttle support. McDonnell Douglas, at that time the manufacturer of the Delta family, signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force in 1987 to provide seven"
"SLC-6, the route was upgraded to accommodate a 76-wheeled vehicle, built by Commetto in Italy specifically to carry the Orbiter on its large flat deck utilizing the three external tank interface points, versus towing the Orbiter on its landing gear that long distance. Modification of SLC-6 to support polar missions had been problematic and expensive. SLC-6 was still being prepared for its first Shuttle launch, mission STS-62-A targeted for 15 October 1986, when the ""Challenger"" disaster grounded the Shuttle fleet and set in motion a chain of events that finally led to the decision to cancel all west coast shuttle"
"for launch in 1984, but this later slipped to 1985 and then to 1986. The mission was initially called the ""Jupiter Orbiter Probe""; it was christened ""Galileo"" in 1978. Once the spacecraft was complete, its launch was scheduled for STS-61-G on-board in 1986. The Inertial Upper Stage booster was going to be used at first, but this changed to the Centaur booster, then back to IUS after ""Challenger"". The Centaur-G liquid hydrogen-fueled booster stage allowed a direct trajectory to Jupiter. The mission was further delayed by the hiatus in launches that occurred after the Space Shuttle ""Challenger"" disaster. New safety"
"Space Shuttle Enterprise Space Shuttle ""Enterprise"" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) was the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test flights after being launched from a modified Boeing 747. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of spaceflight. Originally, ""Enterprise"" had been intended to be refitted for orbital flight to become the second space-rated orbiter in service. However, during the construction of , details of the final design changed, making it"
"Shuttle ""Columbia"" disaster. The Shuttle fleet lost two orbiters and 14 astronauts in two disasters: ""Challenger"" in 1986, and ""Columbia"" in 2003. While the 1986 loss was mitigated by building the Space Shuttle ""Endeavour"" from replacement parts, NASA did not build another orbiter to replace the second loss. NASA's Space Shuttle program had 135 missions when the program ended with the successful landing of the Space Shuttle ""Atlantis"" at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011. The program spanned 30 years with over 300 astronauts sent into space. The International Space Station (ISS) combines NASA's ""Space Station Freedom"" project"
"Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and 2010 Space Launch System program resulted in renewed proposals for Saturn C-3 derivatives using the Rocketdyne F-1A engines with existing booster cores and tooling (10m - Saturn S-IC stage; 8.4m - Space Shuttle external tank; 5.1m - Delta IV Common Booster Core). After the Space Shuttle ""Challenger"" disaster, the United States Air Force (USAF) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted a joint Advanced Launch System study (1987-1990). Hughes Aircraft and Boeing dusted off the earlier Saturn C-3 design and submitted their proposal for the Jarvis launch vehicle. The Jarvis would be a three-stage"
"study by Boeing. HTHL SSTO designs included the Rockwell Star-Raker and the Boeing HTHL SSTO study. However, the focus of all space launch funding in the United States on the Shuttle killed off these prospects. The Soviet Union followed suit with Buran. Others preferred expendables for their lower design risk and lower design cost. Eventually, the Shuttle was found to be even more expensive to operate than an expendable launch system. The cancellation of a Shuttle-Centaur rocket after the loss of Challenger also caused a hiatus, and the United States military scrambled back towards expendables to launch their payloads. Many"
"on 20 March 1987 with a Delta-3920. STS-61-H STS-61-H was a United States Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on June 24, 1986 using ""Columbia"". However, it was cancelled after the ""Challenger"" disaster. Before James Buchli was assigned to STS-61-H, Norman Thagard was the potential Mission Specialist 3 for this flight. The main task of the mission was to bring two commercial satellites into orbit – Palapa B3 and Westar 6S, and military communication satellite - Skynet 4A, The British Skynet and the Indonesian Palapa were supposed to be accompanied by an astronaut from the two countries. After the ""Challenger"""
"of which have flown in space. ""Enterprise"" was used only for approach and landing tests, launching from the back of a Boeing 747 SCA and gliding to deadstick landings at Edwards AFB, California. The first Space Shuttle to fly into space was ""Columbia"", followed by ""Challenger"", ""Discovery"", ""Atlantis"", and ""Endeavour"". ""Endeavour"" was built to replace ""Challenger"" when it was lost in January 1986. ""Columbia"" broke up during reentry in February 2003. The first automatic partially reusable spacecraft was the ""Buran""-class shuttle, launched by the USSR on November 15, 1988, although it made only one flight and this was uncrewed. This"
"few or no changes to the tank were made; rather, NASA decided that it was inevitable that some insulation might be lost during launch and thus required that an inspection of the orbiter's critical elements be made prior to reentry on future flights. NASA retired the Space Shuttle in 2011, leaving America dependent upon the Russian ""Soyuz"" spacecraft for manned space missions. The initial plans for the Space Station envisaged a small, low-cost Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) that would provide emergency evacuation capability. The 1986 ""Challenger"" disaster led planners to consider a more capable spacecraft. The Orbital Space Plane (OSP)"
"Endeavour (supercomputer) Endeavour is a shared memory supercomputer at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division at NASA Ames Research Center. It was named after the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the last orbiter built during NASA's Space Shuttle Program. Built in February 2013 as a replacement for the Columbia supercomputer, it consists of two nodes across three SGI UV 2000 racks with 1,536 Intel Xeon E5-4650L “Sandy Bridge” processors for a theoretical processing capability of 32 teraflops. Its global shared-memory environment allows for one processor to access the memory of other processors in the cluster as needed, giving users the ability to"
"Space Shuttle Independence Space Shuttle ""Independence, formerly known as Explorer"", is a full-scale, high-fidelity replica of the Space Shuttle. It was built by Guard-Lee in Apopka, Florida, installed at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in 1993, and moved to Space Center Houston in 2012. It was built using schematics, blueprints and archival documents provided by NASA and by shuttle contractors such as Rockwell International. While many of the features on the replica are simulated, some parts, including the landing gear's Michelin tires, have been used in the Space Shuttle program. The model is long, high, has a wingspan, and weighs"
"STS-61-F STS-61-F was a United States Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on 15 May 1986 using ""Challenger"". It was cancelled after ""Challenger"" was destroyed earlier that year. The main objective of STS-61-F was to deploy the ""Ulysses"" solar probe, which would travel to Jupiter and use it as a gravitational slingshot in order to be placed into polar orbit around the Sun. This mission would have marked the first use of the Centaur-G liquid-fueled payload booster, which would also be used on the subsequent mission to send the Galileo probe in orbit around Jupiter. Due to the use of"
"Originally International Sun-Earth Explorer 3, the probe was renamed and freed from its Lagrangian point location in Earth's orbit to intercept comets 21P/Giacobini-Zinner and Halley. Two Space Shuttle missions—the ill-fated STS-51-L (ended by the ""Challenger"" disaster) and STS-61-E—were scheduled to observe Halley's Comet from low Earth orbit. STS-51-L carried the Shuttle-Pointed Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-203) satellite, also called the Halley's Comet Experiment Deployable (HCED). STS-61-E was a ""Columbia"" mission scheduled for March 1986, carrying the ASTRO-1 platform to study the comet. Due to the suspension of America's manned space program after the ""Challenger"" explosion, the mission was canceled, and ASTRO-1"
"Space Shuttle Discovery Space Shuttle ""Discovery"" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, gathering more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. ""Discovery"" became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by ""Columbia"" and ""Challenger"". It embarked on its last mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011 and touched down for the final time at Kennedy Space Center on"
"STS-61-G STS-61-G was a United States Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on May 20, 1986, using ""Atlantis"". The main objective of this mission was to launch the ""Galileo"" spacecraft toward Jupiter using the Centaur-G upper stage. It was canceled after the ""Challenger"" disaster. John M. Fabian was scheduled to fly as Mission Specialist 1 on his third trip to space, but due to concerns and stress about the Centaur-G worst-case-scenarios, he resigned from this mission. His replacement was Norman E. Thagard. Most of the crew sans van Hoften flew on STS-30 in May 1989, with Mary Cleave taking the"
"without long term life support, visited by short term crews to replenish and maintain experiments in a Zero-G environment free of vibrations caused by a permanent crew. The project was cancelled after budget constraints caused by German reunification. The Hermes spaceplane is comparable in function to the American and Soviet space shuttles, with a smaller crew of up to 6 (reduced to 3 with ejection seats after the Challenger disaster) and substantially smaller cargo capacity, 4,550 kg, comparable to ISS unmanned cargo ships. By 1991 the Columbus and Hermes pre-development activities were good enough to progress into full development, however"
"Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle ""Columbia"" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space-rated orbiter in NASA's Space Shuttle fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12, 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle program. Over 22 years of service, it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members. Construction began on ""Columbia"" in 1975 at Rockwell International's (formerly North American Aviation/North American Rockwell) principal assembly facility in Palmdale, California, a suburb of Los"
"boosted into a geostationary orbit. The secondary payload, replacing a delayed NASA communications satellite, was a four-metric-ton dummy payload, intended to test the use of the shuttle's ""Canadarm"" remote manipulator system. Scientific experiments carried onboard ""Challenger"" included the environmental testing of new hardware and materials designed for future spacecraft, the study of biological materials in electric fields under microgravity, and research into space adaptation syndrome (also known as ""space sickness""). The flight furthermore served as shakedown testing for the previously launched TDRS-1 satellite, which would be required to support the subsequent STS-9 mission. This mission had a crew of five,"
"the in-flight explosion of one of the shuttles in the ""Challenger"" disaster during 1986 showed that it was too complex for routine use as a satellite launch platform. Aérospatiale went on to develop more capable versions of the Ariane, which took much of the business of space launches away from the Americans during the 1990s. During 1991, the company participated in the construction of the chassis of the Bugatti EB110 Supercar. The chassis, built completely of carbon fibre, was considered to be revolutionary for the time, being very lightweight for its size and function. In 1992, German defense company DaimlerBenz"
"Specialist (George Nelson) was added to the crew. ""Ulysses"" was eventually deployed from ""Discovery"" on STS-41, using the solid-fueled Inertial Upper Stage and PAM-S instead of the Centaur, which had been cancelled after the ""Challenger"" disaster. STS-61-F STS-61-F was a United States Space Shuttle mission planned to launch on 15 May 1986 using ""Challenger"". It was cancelled after ""Challenger"" was destroyed earlier that year. The main objective of STS-61-F was to deploy the ""Ulysses"" solar probe, which would travel to Jupiter and use it as a gravitational slingshot in order to be placed into polar orbit around the Sun. This"