The Space Shuttle Apr 2026

: Known for carrying the first American woman and African American into space; destroyed 73 seconds after liftoff in 1986.

Five flight-worthy orbiters were constructed for the program:

: A prototype used for atmospheric flight tests; it never flew in space but is currently on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. How It Worked The Space Shuttle

40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Enterprise rolls to the Pad - NASA

The Shuttle system consisted of three primary components that worked together for launch: : Known for carrying the first American woman

: The first shuttle to fly into space in 1981; tragically lost during re-entry in 2003.

The Space Shuttle, officially known as the , was the world’s first partially reusable spacecraft, operating from 1981 to 2011. Over 30 years, the program flew 135 missions , launched 355 people from 16 countries, and traveled more than 542 million miles. The Space Shuttle, officially known as the ,

: Built as a replacement for Challenger, it completed 25 missions, including the first service mission for Hubble.