14. Shuttle  Basics

Shuttle Basics The Space Shuttle is the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- is designed to fly at least 100 missions. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that. Image left: The components of the Space Shuttle system: Orbiter, External Tank, and Solid Rocket Boosters. Photo Credit: NASA Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s. The Space Shuttle consists of three major components: the Orbiter which houses the crew; a large External Tank that holds fuel for the main engines; and two Solid Rocket Boosters which provide most of the Shuttle's lift during the first two minutes of flight. All of the components are reused except for the external fuel tank, which burns up in the atmosphere after each launch. The longest the Shuttle has stayed in orbit on any single mission is 17.5 days on mission STS-80 in November 1996. Normally, missions may be planned for anywhere from five to 16 days in duration. The smallest crew ever to fly on the Shuttle numbered two people on the first few missions. The largest crew numbered eight people. Normally, crews may range in size from five to seven people. The Shuttle is designed to reach orbits ranging from about 185 kilometers to 643 kilometers (115 statute miles to 400 statute miles) high. The Shuttle has the most reliable launch record of any rocket now in operation. Since 1981, it has boosted more than 1.36 million kilograms (3 million pounds) of cargo into orbit. More than than 600 crew members have flown on its missions. Although it has been in operation for almost 20 years, the Shuttle has continually evolved and is significantly different today than when it first was launched. NASA has made literally thousands of major and minor modifications to the original design that have made it safer, more reliable and more capable today than ever before. Since 1992 alone, NASA has made engine and system improvements that are estimated to have tripled the safety of flying the Space Shuttle, and the number of problems experienced while a Space Shuttle is in flight has decreased by 70 percent. During the same period, the cost of operating the Shuttle has decreased by one and a quarter billion dollars annually -- a reduction of more than 40 percent. At the same time, because of weight reductions and other improvements, the cargo the Shuttle can carry has increased by 7.3 metric tons (8 tons.) In managing and operating the Space Shuttle, NASA holds the safety of the crew as its highest priority. http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_STS.html

13. Titan IV A-20 explodes over Cape Canaveral (8-12-98)

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12. Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour

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Endeavour OV-105
Space Shuttle Endeavour on launch pad 39A prior to mission STS-127, May 31, 2009
OV designation	OV-105
Country	United States
Contract award	July 31, 1987
Named after	HMS Endeavour (1764)
Status	Retired, displayed at California Science Center in Los Angeles, California
First flight	STS-49 May 7, 1992 – May 16, 1992
Last flight	Ferry flight on SCA NASA905 to Los Angeles, California September 19–21, 2012
Number of missions	25
Crew members	154
Time spent in space	296 days, 3 hours, 34 minutes, 2 seconds
Number of orbits	4,671
Distance travelled	122,883,151 mi (197,761,262 km)
Satellites deployed	3
Mir dockings	1
ISS dockings	12

Endeavour as photographed from the International Space Station as it approached the station during STS-118

Endeavour appears to straddle the stratosphere and mesosphere in this photo taken from the International Space Station

Space Shuttle Endeavour (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States.^[1] Endeavour was the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, and first flew in May 1992 on mission STS-49 and its last mission STS-134 was in May 2011.^[2][3] The STS-134 mission was originally planned as the final mission of the Space Shuttle program,^[4] but with authorization of the STS-135 mission, Atlantis became the last Space Shuttle to fly.
The United States Congress authorized the construction of Endeavour in 1987 to replace Challenger, which was lost in the STS-51-L launch accident in 1986. Structural spares built during the construction of Discovery and Atlantis, two of the previous shuttles, were used in its assembly. NASA chose to build Endeavour from spares rather than refitting Enterprise or accepting a Rockwell International proposal to build two shuttles for the price of one of the original shuttles, on cost grounds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Endeavour

11. Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis

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Atlantis OV‑104
Atlantis launching STS-122 mission to dock with the International Space Station
OV designation	OV-104
Country	United States of America
Contract award	29 January 1979
Named after	RV Atlantis
Status	Retired. Displayed at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
First flight	STS-51-J 3–7 October 1985
Last flight	STS-135 8-21 July 2011
Number of missions	33
Crew members	207[1]
Time spent in space	306 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes, 43 seconds as of STS-135
Number of orbits	4,848
Distance travelled	125,935,769 miles (202,673,974 km) as of STS-135
Satellites deployed	14
Mir dockings	7
ISS dockings	12

The Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV‑104) was a Space Shuttle orbiter in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States.^[2] Atlantis was the fourth operational (and the next-to-the-last) Space Shuttle to be constructed by the Rockwell International company in Southern California, and it was delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida in April 1985.^[3][4] Atlantis was the only orbiter which lacked the ability to draw power from the International Space Station while docked there; it had to continue to provide its own power through fuel cells.^[5]
The last mission of Atlantis was STS-135, the last flight of the Shuttle program. This final flight, authorized in October 2010, brought additional supplies to the International Space Station and took advantage of the processing performed for the Launch on Need mission, which would only have been flown in the event that Endeavour's STS-134 crew required rescue.^[6] Atlantis launched successfully for the final time on 8 July 2011 at 16:29 UTC, landing at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on 21 July 2011 at 09:57 UTC.
By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 mi (203,000,000 km) in space or more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Atlantis was named after RV Atlantis, a two-masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966.^[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Atlantis

10. Space Shuttle Landing

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9. Space shuttle launch

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8. Columbia
STS-1

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This article is about the Space Shuttle flight. For Synchronous Transport Signal (level)-1 in the SONET hierarchy, see Synchronous optical networking. For the gene, see STS-1 (gene).

STS-1
Mission insignia
Mission statistics
Mission name	STS-1
Space shuttle	Columbia
Crew size	2
Launch pad	Kennedy Space Center, Florida LC 39A
Launch date	12 April 1981 12:00:03 (1981-04-12T12:00:03) UTC
Landing site	Edwards AFB, Runway 23
Landing	14 April 1981 18:20:57 (1981-04-14T18:20:58) UTC
Mission duration	2 days, 6 hours, 20 minutes, 53 seconds
Number of orbits	37
Apogee	156 mi (251 km)
Perigee	149 mi (240 km)
Orbital period	89.4 min
Orbital altitude	307 km (191 mi)
Orbital inclination	40.4 degrees
Distance traveled	1,728,000 kilometres (1,074,000 mi)
Crew photo
Crew members John W. Young (left) and Robert L. Crippen pose in ejection escape suits (EES) with a small model of the Space Shuttle orbiter.
Related missions
Previous Subsequent Approach and Landing Tests STS-2

STS-1 was the first orbital flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. Space Shuttle Columbia launched on 12 April 1981, and returned to Earth on 14 April, having orbited the Earth 37 times during its 54.5-hour mission. Columbia carried a crew of two – mission commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen. It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project on 15 July 1975. STS-1 was also the only US manned maiden test flight of a new spacecraft system, although it was the culmination of atmospheric testing of the Space Shuttle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1