1. Atmosphere Space Shuttle

"STS" redirects here. For other uses, see STS (disambiguation).

This article is about the NASA Space Transportation System vehicle. For the associated NASA STS program, see Space Shuttle program. For other shuttles and aerospace vehicles, see Spaceplane.

Space Shuttle

Discovery lifts off at the start of STS-120.
Function	Manned orbital launch and reentry
Manufacturer	United Space Alliance Thiokol/Alliant Techsystems (SRBs) Lockheed Martin/Martin Marietta (ET) Boeing/Rockwell (orbiter)
Country of origin	United States of America
Size
Height	56.1 m (184.2 ft)
Diameter	8.7 m (28.5 ft)
Mass	2,030 t (4,470,000 lbm)
Capacity
Payload to LEO	24,400 kg (53,600 lb)
Payload to GTO	3,810 kg (8,390 lbm)
Payload to Polar orbit	12,700 kg (28,000 lb)
Payload to Landing[1]	14,400 kg (32,000 lb)[1] (Return Payload)
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	LC-39, Kennedy Space Center SLC-6, Vandenberg AFB (unused)
Total launches	135
Successes	134 successful launches 133 successful re-entries
Failures	2 (launch failure, Challenger; re-entry failure, Columbia)
First flight	April 12, 1981
Last flight	July 21, 2011
Notable payloads	Tracking and Data Relay Satellites Spacelab Great Observatories (including Hubble) Galileo, Magellan, Ulysses Mir Docking Module ISS components
Boosters (Stage 0) - Solid Rocket Boosters
No. boosters	2
Engines	1 solid
Thrust	12.5 MN each, sea level liftoff (2,800,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	269 s
Burn time	124 s
Fuel	solid
First stage - External Tank
Engines	3 SSMEs located on Orbiter
Thrust	5.45220 MN total, sea level liftoff (1,225,704 lbf)
Specific impulse	455 s
Burn time	480 s
Fuel	LOX/LH2
Second stage - Orbiter
Engines	2 OME
Thrust	53.4 kN combined total vacuum thrust (12,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	316 s
Burn time	1,250 s
Fuel	MMH / N2O4

The Space Shuttle was a crewed, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its official program name was Space Transportation System, taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item to be funded for development.^[2] The first of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights beginning in 1982. It was used on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, all launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Major missions included launching numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), conducting space science experiments, and constructing and servicing the International Space Station. Major components included the orbiters, recoverable boosters, external tanks, payloads, and supporting infrastructure. Five space-worthy orbiters were built; two were lost in mission accidents.
The Space Shuttle at launch consisted of the Orbiter Vehicle (OV), one external tank (ET), and two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). It was launched vertically like a conventional rocket with thrust from the two SRBs and three main engines. During launch, the external tank provided fuel for the orbiter's main engines. The SRBs and ET were jettisoned before the orbiter reached orbit. At the conclusion of the orbiter's space mission, it fired its thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enter the lower atmosphere. The orbiter decelerated in the atmosphere before flying like a glider but with reaction control system thrusters before landing on a long runway. Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour were the space-capable orbiters that were built
                                         

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle