Space Shuttle program

Lore & Background

The Space Shuttle program formally commenced in 1972, becoming the sole focus of NASA's human spaceflight operations after the Apollo, Skylab, and Apollo–Soyuz programs in 1975. The Shuttle was originally conceived of and presented to the public in 1972 as a 'Space Truck' which would, among other things, be used to build a United States space station in low Earth orbit during the 1980s and then be replaced by a new vehicle by the early 1990s. The stalled plans for a U.S. space station evolved into the International Space Station and were formally initiated in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, but the ISS suffered from long delays, design changes and cost over-runs and forced the service life of the Space Shuttle to be extended several times until 2011 when it was finally retired—serving twice as long as it was originally designed to do.

The first experimental orbiter, Enterprise, was a high-altitude glider, launched from the back of a specially modified Boeing 747, only for initial atmospheric landing tests (ALT). Enterprise's first test flight was on February 18, 1977, only five years after the Shuttle program was formally initiated; leading to the launch of the first space-worthy shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. The Space Shuttle program finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011, retiring the final Shuttle in the fleet. The Space Shuttle program formally ended on August 31, 2011.

In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters (Columbia and Challenger) suffered catastrophic accidents, with the loss of all crew members, totaling 14 astronauts. The accidents led to national level inquiries, detailed analysis of why the accidents occurred, and significant pauses where changes were made before the Shuttles returned to flight. After the Challenger disaster in January 1986, there was a delay of 32 months before the next Shuttle launch. A similar delay of 29 months occurred after the Columbia disaster in February 2003.

Reader's Guide

The Space Shuttle program was the first reusable crewed space vehicle that made multiple flights into orbit, and the only winged crewed spacecraft to have achieved orbit and landing. Its missions involved carrying large payloads to various orbits including the International Space Station (ISS), providing crew rotation for the space station, and performing service missions on the Hubble Space Telescope. The orbiter also recovered satellites and other payloads from orbit and returned them to Earth, though its use in this capacity was rare. Each vehicle was designed with a projected lifespan of 100 launches, or 10 years' operational life. Original selling points on the shuttles were over 150 launches over a 15-year operational span with a 'launch per month' expected at the peak of the program, but extensive delays in the development of the International Space Station never created such a peak demand for frequent flights.

The total cost of the actual 30-year service life of the Shuttle program through 2011, adjusted for inflation, was $196 billion. In 2010, the incremental cost per flight of the Space Shuttle was $409 million, or $14,186 per kilogram ($6,435 per pound). Since the Shuttle's retirement in 2011, many of its original duties are performed by an assortment of government and private vessels, including SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft and the Russian Soyuz for crew service to the ISS. For missions beyond low Earth orbit, NASA is building the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft, part of the Artemis program.

Did You Know?

• The Space Shuttle program flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries.
• Two orbiters, Columbia and Challenger, suffered catastrophic accidents with the loss of all crew members, totaling 14 astronauts.
• The longest Shuttle mission was STS-80 lasting 17 days, 15 hours.
• The first space-worthy shuttle Columbia launched on April 12, 1981, the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight.