While its time has come and gone, it is hard to forget NASA’s space shuttle, which left a huge impact on the history of human space exploration and pushed the limits of human space travel. The shuttle fostered international collaboration and made space more accessible. It was the shuttle that flew the first American woman and African-American in space, as well as the first teacher. While Apollo capsules could carry three astronauts, the shuttle could carry up to eight!Īnd the shuttle broke through boundaries, bringing together diverse crews from all over the world, across all backgrounds. It could also accommodate more crew members. Its large cargo bay allowed for bigger payloads, and since it was reusable, it offered a more economic option for flying human spaceflight missions. The shuttle stood out in many ways from traditional spacecraft. Many scientific investigations were conducted onboard, and the invaluable knowledge gained from their results has improved life in space and on Earth. A sixth prototype orbiter, Enterprise, was used in glide tests prior to the first shuttle flight.įrom helping construct the International Space Station (ISS) to launching the Hubble Space Telescope, the shuttle accomplished much during its 30-year career. NASA built five shuttle orbiters for human spaceflight – Challenger, Endeavour, Discovery, Atlantis, and Columbia. It seemed to have jumped right out of a science-fiction story! No one had ever seen anything like NASA’s space shuttle. It captured the hearts and minds of people all around the world. Its re-usability marked a first for human spacecraft, but the shuttle did more than make history. The shuttle was in a word, revolutionary. It launched like a rocket, but landed like a plane. The space shuttle is one of NASA’s most iconic spacecrafts. Total miles traveled: 542,398,878 miles.Final shuttle launch: Atlantis, July 21, 2011.First shuttle launch: Columbia, April 12, 1981.This month we are spotlighting the space shuttle, the world’s first reusable spacecraft. In our new Spacecraft Spotlight blog series, we are featuring different spacecraft and highlighting their unique features and significant contributions to the history of space exploration.
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