Initially, the launches were given sequential numbers indicating order of launch, such as STS-7. Specific shuttle missions were therefore designated with the prefix "STS". Space Shuttle program was officially referred to as the Space Transportation System (STS). The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion of STS-135 by Atlantis on 21 July 2011. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. Challenger and Columbia were destroyed in mission accidents in 19 respectively, killing a total of fourteen astronauts. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis.
#Nasa space shuttle columbia upgrade#
The first orbiter built, Enterprise, was used for atmospheric flight tests (ALT) but future plans to upgrade it to orbital capability were ultimately canceled. The Kennedy Space Center served as the landing site for 78 missions, while 54 missions landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California and one mission landed at White Sands, New Mexico. The program flew a total of 355 people representing 16 countries, and with 852 total shuttle fliers.
The highest altitude ( apogee) achieved by the shuttle was 621 km (386 mi) when deploying the Hubble Space Telescope. The shuttles docked with Russian space station Mir nine times and visited the ISS thirty-seven times. The cold morning shrunk the O-Ring on the right Solid Rocket Booster causing the external fuel tank to explode. The longest orbital flight of the Shuttle was STS-80 at 17 days 15 hours, while the shortest flight was STS-51-L at one minute 13 seconds when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart during launch. During that time period the fleet logged 1,322 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds of flight time.
The first of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights beginning in 1982.įrom 1981 to 2011 a total of 135 missions were flown, all launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, conducted science experiments in orbit, and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station (ISS). Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). The command module for the Apollo 11 lunar mission was also named Columbia.Launch of Space Shuttle Columbia on 12 April 1981 at Pad 39A for mission STS-1 Navy to circumnavigate the globe was named Columbia. EST at the conclusion of a microgravity research mission, STS-107.Ĭolumbia was named after a small sailing vessel that operated out of Boston in 1792 and explored the mouth of the Columbia River. Other, achievements for Columbia included the recovery of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) satellite from orbit during mission STS-32 in January 1990, and the STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences mission in June 1991 - the first manned Spacelab mission totally dedicated to human medical research.Ĭolumbia was destroyed over east Texas on its landing descent to Kennedy Space Center on Feb. It proved the operational concept of a winged, reusable spaceship by successfully completing the Orbital Flight Test Program - missions STS-1 through STS-4. Columbia initiated the Space Shuttle flight program when it lifted off Pad A in the Launch Complex 39 area at KSC on April 12, 1981. Columbia (OV-102), the first of NASA's orbiter fleet, was delivered to Kennedy Space Center in March 1979.
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