OctoThe Space Shuttle Discovery launches at 11:38 a.m. from Kennedy Space Center, carrying teacher-turned-astronaut Barbara Morgan and six crewmates. Aboard Atlantis is Sunita Williams, returning from the International Space Station where she set an endurance record for the longest single spaceflight for a woman (195 days) and the record for most time spent spacewalking by a woman.ĪugThe Space Shuttle Endeavour launches successfully at 6:36 p.m. JThe Atlantis lands safely at Edwards AFB in California, the first time a shuttle has landed at Edwards since 2005. The crew plans to install a new segment and solar panel on the space station and retrieve astronaut Sunita Williams, who has been at the space station since December. JThe Space Shuttle Atlantis launches, carrying a crew of seven astronauts headed for the International Space Station. The crew of seven continues construction on the International Space Station by rewiring the orbiting laboratory and adding a two-ton segment to its integrated truss structure.įebruThe external fuel tank attached to Space Shuttle Atlantis is damaged during a hailstorm. The six astronauts conduct three spacewalks and deliver and install a 35,000-pound addition with giant solar arrays to power the International Space Station.ĭecemThe Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off, beginning a 12-day mission with the first night launch in four years. SeptemThe Atlantis launches successfully.
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JThe Space Shuttle Discovery is successfully launched. The crack is four to five inches long, and one eighth of an inch to a quarter-inch wide. JWorkers find a crack in the foam insulation covering a bracket that connects the liquid oxygen feed line to shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank.
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On July 27, NASA grounds its space shuttles until engineers solve the recurring problem of falling debris, pieces of which tore away from the shuttle Discovery shortly after the blastoff.ĪugThe Discovery lands safely at Edwards AFB in California. Atmospheric gases burn the wing during re-entry, and the orbiter is destroyed. Flights do not resume for another two years.įebruThe Space Shuttle Columbia explodes over Texas after a large piece of foam rips off during Columbia's launch and gouges a hole in the left wing in the shuttle. JanuThe Challenger explodes minutes after launch due to faulty O-rings in the shuttle's rocket booster.
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NovemThe Discovery is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center.ĪpThe Atlantis is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center. JThe orbiter Challenger is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center. MaThe orbiter Columbia is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center.ĪpThe first space shuttle, STS-1 or Columbia, is launched. Timeline: JanuPresident Richard Nixon announces the intent to develop the first space shuttle for travel into space.ġ970s - The orbiter Enterprise is used for tests but never flies in space. The space shuttles Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour were each designed to fly 100 missions, though altogether they flew much fewer than that. There were five orbiters in the shuttle program's history: Atlantis, Challenger, Columbia, Discovery and Endeavour. The liftoff weight of the space shuttle was 4.5 million pounds. The longest any shuttle stayed in orbit was 17.5 days, in November 1996. The space shuttle program sent over 3 million pounds of cargo into space. Over 600 crewmembers flew on shuttle missions. It burned up in the atmosphere after launch.Ĭrews ranged in size from five to seven people. It acted as the crew's home during the flight.Īll of the components were reused except for the external fuel tank.
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The external tank, which provided fuel to the space shuttle main engines during launch. The space shuttle system was made up of three components: - Two solid rocket boosters. Space shuttles could carry satellites, space probes, and other cargo into orbit around Earth on both commercial and non-commercial missions. Space shuttle Endeavour astronauts have attached a windowed cupola to the International Space Station, which will give its inhabitants a spectacular view of Earth, as well as additional living and work space.(CNN) - Here's a look at NASA's Space Shuttle Program which ended in 2011 after 135 missions.įacts: The space shuttle is the "world's first reusable spacecraft," launching like a rocket, orbiting like a spacecraft, and landing like a plane. Jump to navigation The International Space Station gets a room with a view: space shuttle Endeavour mission in pictures