Space Shuttle

Associated With

NASA and its programme contractors - creator or operator

Defining Feature

A winged reusable orbiter launched with an external tank and two solid rocket boosters

Status

Discontinued - Retired after the final mission, STS-135, in 2011

Overview

NASA's Space Shuttle combined a reusable winged orbiter with boosters and an external fuel tank.

Columbia launched on the programme's first mission on 12 April 1981. It returned two days later and landed on a runway like an aircraft, completing the first orbital test.

Over the next three decades, shuttles carried people, satellites and major components into low Earth orbit. The programme ended with its 135th mission in 2011.

Why It Mattered

The Shuttle joined vertical launch, orbital work and runway landing in one transport system. Across 135 missions, it served as a flying laboratory and construction platform while becoming a prominent symbol of human spaceflight.

Its reusable components expanded what one spacecraft system could do, while its complexity and risks remained central to the programme's history.

Launch-System Architecture

• The flight system comprised the orbiter, an external tank and two solid rocket boosters.
• Every major component was designed for reuse except the external tank, which was expended after launch.

First Orbital Test

• STS-1 carried commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen aboard Columbia.
• The mission's stated objectives were safe launch and return and verification of the combined shuttle vehicle.
• STS-1 launched on 12 April and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on 14 April 1981.

Final Programme Mission

• STS-135 was NASA's 135th and final Space Shuttle flight.
• The programme retired after that final mission in 2011.

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