7. Spacelab

Spacelab

Main article: Spacelab

Spacelab LM2

A major component of the Space Shuttle Program was Spacelab, primarily contributed by a consortium of European countries, and operated in conjunction with the United States and international partners.^[38] Supported by a modular system of pressurized modules, pallets, and systems, Spacelab missions executed on multidisciplinary science, orbital logistics, international cooperation.^[38] Over 29 missions flew on subjects ranging from astronomy, microgravity, radar, and life sciences, to name a few.^[38] Spacelab hardware also supported missions such as Hubble (HST) servicing and space station resupply.^[38] STS-2 and STS-3 provided testing, and the first full mission was Spacelab-1 (STS-9) launched on November 28, 1983.^[38]
Spacelab formally began in 1973, after a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, by European heads of state.^[21] Within the decade, Spacelab would go into orbit and provide not only Europe, but also the United States, with an orbital workshop and hardware system.^[21] International cooperation, science, and exploration were realized on Spacelab.^[38]

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

6. Space Shuttle Orbiter
Space Shuttle Orbiter

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Space Shuttle Orbiter

The Discovery orbiter approaches the ISS on STS-121
Operator	NASA
Mission type	Orbiter
Satellite of	Earth
Launch vehicle	Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster
Launch site	Kennedy Space Center
Homepage	Space Shuttle Home

The Space Shuttle orbiter ranks second among the world's first spaceplanes, preceded only by the North American X-15 and followed by the Buran, SpaceShipOne, and the Boeing X-37.

The Space Shuttle Orbiter was the orbital spacecraft of the Space Shuttle program operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States.^[1] The orbiter was a reusable winged "space-plane", a mixture of rockets, spacecraft, and aircraft. This space-plane could carry crews and payloads into low Earth orbit, perform on-orbit operations, then re-enter the atmosphere and land as a glider, returning its crew and any on-board payload to the Earth.
A total of six Orbiters were built for flight: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour and Enterprise. All were built by the Pittsburgh, PA based Rockwell International company. The first Orbiter to fly, Enterprise, took its maiden flight in 1977. Built solely for unpowered atmospheric test flights and landings, its take-off was from the back of a modified Boeing-747 cargo plane, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, while the remaining Orbiters were built for orbital space flights, launched vertically as part of the full Space Shuttle package. Enterprise was partially disassembled and retired after completion of critical testing.
Columbia was the first Orbiter to launch into space as a Space Shuttle, in 1981. The first launches of Challenger, Discovery, and finally Atlantis, followed in 1983, 1984 and 1985 respectively. In 1986, Challenger was destroyed in an accident after launch. Endeavour was built 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, and there were also two reusable large solid-fueled rocket boosters that helped to lift both the Orbiter and its external propellant tanks during approximately the first two minutes of its ascent into outer space. The orbiters also carried hypergolic fuels for use in their RCS systems and in the Orbital Manoeuvring System.

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

5. Space Shuttle Explorer

Space Shuttle Explorer

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Explorer
Space Shuttle replica Explorer at Kennedy Space Center, Florida
OV designation	OV-100
Country	United States
Contract award	Guard-Lee
Status	Awaiting interior refurbishment at Johnson Space Center

Space Shuttle Explorer (honorary Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-100) is a full-scale, high-fidelity replica of the Space Shuttle. It was built in Apopka, Florida by Guard-Lee and installed at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in 1993. 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 of the model's core parts, including the Michelin tires used on the landing gear, are authentic to the Space Shuttle Program.^[1] The model's length is 122.7 feet, its height is 54 feet, and its wingspan is 78 feet.
Internal details of the mock-up are not remarkably accurate, though the size and scope of the payload bay is correct.^{[citation needed]} Externally, the mock-up features simulated thermal protection system tiles (bearing numbers, as the genuine flight articles used to), paneling that looks like reinforced carbon–carbon (RCC) panels on the leading edges of the wings, and actual Michelin tires on the landing gear which were flown in space. Handling points are also shown, but the external detailing does not extend to the inclusion of thermal blankets.^[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Explorer

4. History

History

Discovery rollout ceremony in October 1983

The spacecraft takes its name from four British ships of exploration named Discovery, primarily HMS Discovery, one of the ships commanded by Captain James Cook during his third and final major voyage from 1776 to 1779.
Others include

• Henry Hudson's Discovery, which he used in 1610–1611 to search for a Northwest Passage. This ship had previously been used in the 1607 founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in what was to become the United States;
• HMS Discovery, one of the ships which took Captain George Nares' British Arctic Expedition of 1875–1876 to the North Pole; and
• RRS Discovery, a Royal Geographical Society research vessel which, under the command of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton, was the main ship of the 1901–1904 "Discovery Expedition" to Antarctica^[8] which is still preserved as a museum in Dundee, Scotland.

Discovery was the shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. The second and third Hubble service missions were also conducted by Discovery. It has also launched the Ulysses probe and three TDRS satellites. Discovery had been twice chosen as the "Return To Flight" Orbiter, first in 1988 after the 1986 Challenger disaster, and then for the twin "Return To Flight" missions in July 2005 and July 2006 after the 2003 Columbia disaster. Discovery also carried Project Mercury astronaut John Glenn, who was 77 at the time, back into space during STS-95 on October 29, 1998, making him the oldest person to go into space.^[9]
Had the planned STS-62-A mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1986 for the United States Department of Defense gone ahead, Discovery would have flown it. Its final mission, STS-133, landed on March 9, 2011, in Kennedy Space Center, Florida. After decommissioning and delivery, the spacecraft is displayed in Virginia at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.^[1]
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=529610793992334276#editor/target=post;postID=234312298178177415

3. Spacecraft Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery

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Discovery OV-103
Space Shuttle Discovery launches from NASA Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A on mission STS-124.
OV designation	OV-103
Country	United States Of America
Contract award	January 29, 1979
Named after	Discovery (1602), HMS Discovery (1774), HMS Discovery (1874), RRS Discovery (1901)
Status	Retired, on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia[1]
First flight	STS-41-D August 30, 1984 (1984-08-30) – September 5, 1984
Last flight	Ferry flight on SCA NASA905 to Washington DC April 17, 2012
Number of missions	39
Crew members	252[2]
Time spent in space	365 days, 22 hours, 39 minutes, 33 seconds
Distance travelled	148,221,675 mi (238,539,663 km)[3]
Satellites deployed	31 (including Hubble Space Telescope)
Mir dockings	1[3]
ISS dockings	13[3]

Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States,^[4] and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011. Discovery has flown more than any other spacecraft having completed 39 successful missions in over 27 years of service.^[5]
In 1984, Discovery became the third operational orbiter following Columbia and Challenger,^[6] and made its final touchdown at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, 2011 at 10:57:17 CST,^[7] having spent a cumulative total of almost a full year in space. Discovery has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. Discovery also flew the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. Discovery was the first operational shuttle to be retired, followed by Endeavour

2 . The dargon spacecraft

Successors

The Dragon spacecraft, one of the Space Shuttle's several successors, is seen here on its way to deliver cargo to the ISS

The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program began in 2006 with the purpose of creating commercially operated unmanned cargo vehicles to service the ISS.^[24] The first of these vehicles, SpaceX's Dragon, became operational in 2012, and the second, Orbital Sciences' Cygnus, is expected to do so in 2013.^[25] The Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program was initiated in 2010 with the purpose of creating commercially operated manned spacecraft capable of delivering at least four crew members to the ISS, staying docked for 180 days and then returning them back to Earth.^[26] These spacecraft are expected to become operational around 2017.^[27]
Although the Constellation program was canceled it has been replaced with a very similar beyond low-Earth orbit program. The Orion spacecraft has been left virtually unchanged from its previous design. The planned Ares V rocket has been replaced with the smaller Space Launch System (SLS), which is planned to launch both Orion and other necessary hardware.^[28] The Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), an unmanned test flight of Orion's crew module, is planned to be launched in 2014 on a Delta IV Heavy rocket.^[29] Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) is the unmanned initial launch of SLS, which is planned for 2017.^[29] Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) is the first manned flight of Orion and SLS and is scheduled for 2019.^[29] EM-2 is 10-14 day mission planned to place a crew of four into Lunar orbit. As of March 2012, the destination for EM-3 and immediate destination focus for this new program is still in-flux.^[30]

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