21 Facts About Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U S National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the Space Shuttle program.

Space Shuttle components include the Orbiter Vehicle with three clustered Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines, a pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and the expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

The Space Shuttle was launched vertically, like a conventional rocket, with the two SRBs operating in parallel with the orbiter's three main engines, which were fueled from the ET.

The program tested aerodynamic characteristics that would later be incorporated in design of the Space Shuttle, including unpowered landing from a high altitude and speed.

Rather than award a contract based upon initial proposals, NASA announced a phased approach for the Space Shuttle contracting and development; Phase A was a request for studies completed by competing aerospace companies, Phase B was a competition between two contractors for a specific contract, Phase C involved designing the details of the spacecraft components, and Phase D was the production of the spacecraft.

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NASA reviewed 29 potential designs for the Space Shuttle and determined that a design with two side boosters should be used, and the boosters should be reusable to reduce costs.

Once installed at the launch pad, the Space Shuttle was used to verify the proper positioning of launch complex hardware.

Space Shuttle was the first operational orbital spacecraft designed for reuse.

Each Space Shuttle orbiter was designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or ten years of operational life, although this was later extended.

Responsibility for the Space Shuttle components was spread among multiple NASA field centers.

The Johnson Space Center served as the central point for all Shuttle operations and the MSFC was responsible for the main engines, external tank, and solid rocket boosters.

The John C Stennis Space Center handled main engine testing, and the Goddard Space Flight Center managed the global tracking network.

Space Shuttle's operations were supported by vehicles and infrastructure that facilitated its transportation, construction, and crew access.

Space Shuttle was prepared for launch primarily in the VAB at the KSC.

Type of mission the Space Shuttle was assigned to dictated the type of orbit that it entered.

The initial design of the reusable Space Shuttle envisioned an increasingly cheap launch platform to deploy commercial and government satellites.

The developers of the Space Shuttle advocated for reusability as a cost-saving measure, which resulted in higher development costs for presumed lower costs-per-launch.

Partial reusability of the Space Shuttle was one of the primary design requirements during its initial development.

However, the actual costs of a Space Shuttle launch were higher than initially predicted, and the Space Shuttle did not fly the intended 24 missions per year as initially predicted by NASA.

Space Shuttle was originally intended as a launch vehicle to deploy satellites, which it was primarily used for on the missions prior to the Challenger disaster.

The improvement of expendable launch vehicles and the transition away from commercial payloads on the Space Shuttle resulted in expendable launch vehicles becoming the primary deployment option for satellites.