NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States government's current manned launch vehicle. The winged Shuttle Orbiter is launched vertically, usually carrying five to seven astronauts (although eight have been carried) and up to 50,000 lb (22 700 kg) of payload into low earth orbit. When its mission is complete, the Shuttle can independently move itself out of orbit (by means of its maneuvering thrusters) and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. During descent and landing, the Shuttle Orbiter acts as a glider and makes a completely unpowered landing.
  The Shuttle is the only winged manned spacecraft to achieve orbit and land, and the only reusable space vehicle that has ever made multiple flights into orbit. Its missions involve carrying large payloads to various orbits (including segments to be added to the International Space Station), providing crew rotation for the International Space Station, and performing service missions. The orbiter can also recover satellites and other payloads from orbit and return them to Earth, but its use in this capacity is rare. However, the Shuttle has previously been used to return large payloads from the ISS to Earth, as the Russian Soyuz spacecraft has limited capacity for return payloads. Each vehicle was designed with a projected lifespan of 100 launches, or 10 years' operational life.
  The program started in the late 1960s and has dominated NASA's manned operations since the mid-1970s. According to the Vision for Space Exploration, use of the Space Shuttle will be focused on completing assembly of the ISS by 2010, after which it will be retired from service, and eventually replaced by the new Orion spacecraft (now expected to be ready in about 2014).

Enterprise

  The first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, is a test vehicle designed to operate in the atmosphere; it is not equipped for spaceflight. Enterprise was rolled out at Rockwell International's assembly facility in Palmdale, California in 1976. In 1977, it entered service at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, for a nine-month-long approach and landing test program. The vehicle was flown atop the Boeing 747 Shuttle carrier aircraft and also released for piloted free-flights and landings
to check out all systems and performance characteristics. This test program was a necessary prelude to the first orbital flight by the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981.
  The Space Shuttle made its debut in 1981 as the new U.S. launch vehicle for human spaceflight in Earth orbit. It was developed for a variety of purposes: satellite delivery and retrieval, orbital servicing, roundtrip service for science instruments, and laboratory research in space. Intended to be an economical replacement for expendable launch vehicles that are used only once, it was the world's first re-flyable spacecraft.
  In the post-Apollo era, the Space Shuttle was intended to make access to space "routine" and less expensive. To meet these goals, it had to be reusable and economical to develop and operate. Thus, the design of the Shuttle was shaped not only by engineering considerations but also by interests of the White House, Congress, and Department of Defense. The military, commercial, and scientific communities have used the Shuttle for their projects in space.
  The Space Shuttle is the centerpiece of the U.S. Space Transportation System. The vehicle consists of an orbiter, an external propellant tank, and two solid rocket boosters. Only the orbiter goes into space. Designed to operate on land, in the atmosphere, and in space, the orbiter combines features of a rocket, an aircraft, and a glider. No other flying machine is launched, serves as a crew habitat and cargo carrier, maneuvers about in orbit, then returns from space for an unpowered landing on a runway, and is ready to do it all again in a few weeks.
  The main role of the test vehicle Enterprise (OV-101, for Orbital Vehicle 101) was to check the Shuttle's flight characteristics and performance. NASA conducted the approach and landing test program from February through November 1977 at the Dryden Flight Center. Ground tests included taxi tests with Enterprise mounted atop the Boeing 747 Shuttle carrier aircraft to determine loads, control characteristics, steering, and braking of the mated vehicles. Five captive flights of Enterprise attached to the 747 were conducted, with the Shuttle unmanned and its systems inert, to assess structural integrity and performance of the mated craft in flight. Three manned captive flights followed, with an astronaut crew aboard the Shuttle (still attached to the 747 aircraft) operating and evaluating its activated systems in flight. Finally, two astronaut crews took turns piloting the 150,000-lb. Shuttle test vehicle to five free-flight landings at Edwards Air Force Base under conditions simulating a return from space.
  Upon completion of the approach and landing tests, Enterprise was used for vibration tests at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama and for launch complex fit checks at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In 1983, it appeared in the Paris Air Show and other sites in Europe, and was a featured attraction at the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, NASA transferred Enterprise to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum where it remained in a storage hangar at Washington's Dulles International Airport. In November, 2003, Enterprise was moved to the nearby Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center where it will be on public display while it is restored.

Challenger

 The shuttle was constructed using a body frame (STA- 099) that had initially been built as a test article. STA-099 was not originally intended for spaceflight, but NASA found that recycling it would be less expensive than refitting the test shuttle Enterprise (OV-101) to be spaceworthy, as originally planned.
  Challenger (and the orbiters built after it) had fewer tiles in its Thermal Protection System than Columbia. Most of the tiles on the payload bay doors, upper wing surface and rear fuselage surface were replaced with DuPont white nomex felt insulation. This modification allowed Challenger to carry 1130 kg (2500 lb) more payload than Columbia. Challenger was also the first orbiter to have a heads-up display system similar to those found in military and newer civilian aircraft. This system eliminated the need to look at the instrument panel during descent and allowed the crew to concentrate more on flying the orbiter.
  After its first flight, Challenger quickly became the workhorse of NASA's Space Shuttle fleet, flying far more missions per year than Columbia. In 1983 and 1984, Challenger flew on 85% of all Space Shuttle missions. Even when the orbiters Discovery and Atlantis joined the fleet, Challenger remained in heavy use with three missions a year from 1983-85.Challenger, along with Discovery, was modified at Kennedy Space Center to be able to carry the Centaur-G upper-stage in its payload bay. Had STS-51-L been successful, Challenger's next mission would have been the deployment of the Ulysses probe with the Centaur to study the polar regions of the Sun.
  Challenger was destroyed in the second minute of STS-51-L, the orbiter's tenth mission, on January 28, 1986, when an O-ring seal on its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed. The O-rings failed primarily due to repeated over-compression during assembly and the cold temperatures contributed to the problem. This failure allowed a plume of flame to leak out of the SRB and burn through the external fuel tank (ET). Liquid hydrogen spilled out of the ET and caught fire, severing the clamps holding the SRB in place. The SRB swung around wildly and slammed into Challenger's right wing. This caused the whole shuttle assembly to swerve off course and the supersonic airflow quickly tore Challenger apart. A subsequent investigation concluded that poor application of the SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber) seals, unusually cold temperatures, repeatedly over-compressed O-rings during assembly, and lack of inspection were to blame for the disaster.

Discovery

  Space Shuttle Discovery (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of three spacecraft in the Space Shuttle fleet belonging to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), along with Atlantis and Endeavour. First flown in 1984, Discovery is the third operational Space Shuttle and the oldest shuttle in service. Discovery has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions.
  Discovery was the shuttle that launched the Hubble Space Telescope. The second and third Hubble service missions were also conducted by Discovery. She has also launched the Ulysses probe and three TDRS satellites. Discovery has been chosen twice as the return to flight orbiter, first in 1988 as the return to flight orbiter 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 human being to venture into space.
  Discovery is currently in Orbiter Processing Facility #3 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Its main engines have been reinstalled and its boosters are being stacked in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building for its next flight, STS-120; which is scheduled for October 2007.
  Space Shuttle Discovery has flown 33 flights, spent 241.95 days in space, completed 3,808 orbits, and flown 98,710,673 statute miles (158,859,429 km) in total, as of December 2006. It has flown the most flights of all Space Shuttles so far (a title it is likely to keep). Discovery has also flown on more individual flights than any other spacecraft in history and is likely to retain this honor for some time as no planned launch vehicles (neither American nor International) have a designed lifespan of more than 10 flights. Discovery has flown both "return to flight" missions after the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia disasters: STS-26 in 1988 and STS-114 in 2005.

Atlantis

  Construction of the orbiter Atlantis began on March 3, 1980. Thanks to lessons learned in the construction and testing of orbiters Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger, Atlantis was completed in about half the time in man-hours spent on Columbia. This is largely attributed to the use of large thermal protection blankets on the orbiter's upper body, rather than individual tiles requiring more attention.
  Weighing in at 151,315 pounds when it rolled out of the assembly plant in Palmdale, Calif., Atlantis was nearly 3.5 tons lighter than Columbia. The new orbiter arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 9, 1985, and over the next seven months was prepared for her maiden voyage.
  Like her seafaring predecessor, orbiter Atlantis has carried on the spirit of exploration with several important missions of her own. On Oct. 3, 1985, Atlantis launched on her first space flight, STS-51-J, with a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense. The vehicle went on to carry four more DOD payloads on later missions.
  Atlantis also served as the on-orbit launch site for many noteworthy spacecraft, including planetary probes Magellan and Galileo, as well as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. An impressive array of onboard science experiments took place during most missions to further enhance space research in low Earth orbit.
  Starting with STS-71, Atlantis pioneered the Shuttle-Mir missions, flying the first seven missions to dock with the Russian space station. When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. The missions to Mir included the first on-orbit U.S. crew exchanges, now a common occurrence on the International Space Station. On STS-79, the fourth docking mission, Atlantis ferried astronaut Shannon Lucid back to Earth after her record-setting 188 days in orbit aboard Mir.
  From November 1997 to July 1999, Atlantis underwent refitting operations, with about 165 modifications made to the shuttle, including the installation of the Multifunction Electronic Display System, or glass cockpit. It has made six flights since then, all involving assembly activities at the International Space Station.
  In October 2002, Atlantis and the six-person crew completed an 11-day mission to the International Space Station that involved three space walks.

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Columbia

  On April 12, 1981, a bright white Columbia roared into a deep blue sky as the nation's first reusable Space Shuttle. Named after the first American ocean vessel to circle the globe and the command module for the Apollo 11 Moon landing, Columbia continued this heritage of intrepid exploration. The heaviest of NASA's orbiters, Columbia weighed too much and lacked the necessary equipment to assist with assembly of the International Space Station. Despite its limitations, the orbiter's legacy is one of groundbreaking scientific research and notable "firsts" in space flight.
  Space Shuttle mission STS-9, launched in late November 1983, was the maiden flight for Spacelab. Designed to be a space-based science lab, Spacelab was installed inside the orbiter's cargo bay. Spacelab featured an enclosed crew work module connected to an outside payload pallet, which could be mounted with various instruments and experiments. From inside the lab, astronauts worked with the experiments on the pallet and within the crew module itself. The lab would go on to fly aboard the rest of the fleet, playing host throughout its accomplished lifetime to unprecedented research in astronomy, biology and other sciences. Spacelab ultimately finished where its career began; its 16th and final mission was hoisted into space aboard Columbia in 1998.
  In addition to Columbia's STS-1 flight and Spacelab, the orbiter was also the stage for many other remarkable firsts. Germany's Dr. Ulf Merbold became the first European Space Agency astronaut when he flew aboard 1983's STS-9. The Japanese Space Agency and STS-65's Chiaki Mukai entered history as the first Japanese woman to fly in space in 1994. In a display of national pride, the crew of STS-73 even "threw" the ceremonial first pitch for game five of the 1995 baseball World Series, marking the first time the pitcher was not only outside of the stadium, but out of this world.
  Perhaps Columbia's crowning achievement was the deployment of the gleaming Chandra X-ray Observatory in July 1999. Carried into space inside the orbiter's payload bay, the slender and elegant Chandra telescope was released on July 23. Still in flight today, the X-ray telescope specializes in viewing deep space objects and finding the answers to astronomy's most fundamental questions.
  Columbia and its crew were tragically lost during STS-107 in 2003. As the Space Shuttle lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, a small portion of foam broke away from the orange external fuel tank and struck the orbiter's left wing.

Endeavour

  Authorized by Congress in August 1987 as a replacement for the Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger, Endeavour (OV-105) arrived at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility on May 7, 1991, piggy-backed on top of NASA's new Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
  For the first time, an orbiter was named through a national competition involving students in elementary and secondary schools. They were asked to select a name based upon an exploratory or research sea vessel. In May 1989, President George Bush announced the winning name.Endeavour was named after a ship chartered to traverse the South Pacific in 1768 and captained by 18th century British explorer James Cook, an experienced seaman, navigator and amateur astronomer. He commanded a crew of 93 men, including 11 scientists and artists.Space Shuttle Endeavour embodies similar experiences. Its first launch, the STS-49 mission, began with a flawless liftoff on May 7, 1992, beginning a journey filled with excitement, anticipation and many firsts.Between rescue attempts, the STS-49 crew was busy with a variety of activities. They conducted medical tests assessing the human body's performance in microgravity, and recorded footage for an educational video comparing Cook's first voyage on Endeavour with the Space Shuttle orbiter's maiden voyage.
  Because of Endeavour's excellent performance, NASA decided to extend the flight two days to complete more mission objectives and allow the crew enough time to prepare for landing.OV-105 became the first Space Shuttle orbiter to use a drag chute during a landing -- only one of many technical improvements made to Endeavour.