![]() "More than all of that, though, the shuttle program expanded the limits of human achievement and broadened our understanding of our world."įor more key moments in shuttle history, check out the slideshow. "Designed to return to Earth and land like a giant glider, the shuttle was the world's first reusable space vehicle," NASA said. They traveled more than half a billion miles, which NASA said is more than enough to reach Jupiter. In all, however, the five orbiters - Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour - have flown more than 130 times and carried over 350 people into space. In 2003, tragedy struck again, when the Columbia orbiter suffered a catastrophic failure upon re-entry, killing the crew about 15 minutes before their scheduled touchdown in Florida. The December 1998 STS-88 mission (Opens in a new window) via shuttle Endeavour started construction on the ISS the first crew arrived at the station in 2000. After the disaster, the shuttle program took a two-year break before returning with an all-veteran crew for the Septemlaunch of Discovery (Opens in a new window). The second flight, also aboard Columbia, occurred in November 1981 and there were two dozen successful shuttle launches before the tragic Challenger explosion in 1986. The program, which began in 1981 and included 135 missions, was completed when the Shuttle Atlantis flew its final mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle era started on Apwith Columbia. Trips to the ISS will shift to a commercial focus, and the orbiters from Enterprise, Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis will be shipped off to various museums throughout the country. When Atlantis returns to Earth in about two weeks, NASA will retire its shuttle program in order to focus on deep-space exploration. Shuttle Atlantis on Friday successfully launched for the last time and is now zooming toward the International Space Station for a 12-day mission that will bring NASA's 30-year shuttle program to a close. How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files.How to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill.How to Free Up Space on Your iPhone or iPad.How to Block Robotexts and Spam Messages The Atlantis shuttle lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, bringing a close to Nasas 30-year orbiter programme.
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