Characteristics

• Design is 3 decades old

• Leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by 3 liquid-fueled main engines and 2 solid-propellant boosters attached to an external liquid-propellant tank
• After missions are complete, they streak back through the atmosphere and are maneuvered to land like an airplane
• Shuttles are without power during reentry, and they land on runways similar to a glider
• Space shuttle fleet consists of:
• Discovery (OV-103)
• Atlantis (OV-104)
• Endeavor (OV-105)
• Enterprise (OV-101)—never flew in space
• Challenger (OV-99) and Columbia (OV-102)—crashed

• NASA has averaged 5 flights a year
• Each shuttle launch runs for about $500 million

Design

Wonder Qualities

• First vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis
• Used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments
• They place satellites into orbit; carry out repairs and return them to Earth for fix them
• Main element of America’s Space Transportation System (STS) and are used for space research and applications