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OV-099
Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' (OV-099) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after HMS Challenger (1858), the commanding ship of a Challenger expedition, nineteenth-century scientific expedition that traveled the world, ''Challenger'' was the second Space Shuttle orbiter to fly into space after ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', and launched on STS-6, its maiden flight in April 1983. It was destroyed in January 1986 soon after launch Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, in an accident that killed all seven crewmembers aboard. Initially manufactured as a Test article (aerospace), test article not intended for spaceflight, it was utilized for ground testing of the Space Shuttle orbiter's structural design. However, after NASA found that their original plan to upgrade ''Space Shuttle Enterprise, Enterprise'' for spaceflight would be more expensive than upgrading ''Challenger'', the orbiter was pressed into operational service ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Shuttle Orbiter
The Space Shuttle orbiter is the spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle, a partially reusable orbital spacecraft system that was part of the discontinued Space Shuttle program. Operated from 1977 to 2011 by NASA, the U.S. space agency, this vehicle could carry astronauts and payloads into low Earth orbit, perform in-space operations, then re-enter the atmosphere and land as a glider, returning its crew and any on-board payload to the Earth. Six orbiters were built for flight: ''Enterprise'', '' Columbia'', '' Challenger'', ''Discovery'', ''Atlantis'', and '' Endeavour''. All were built in Palmdale, California, by the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Rockwell International company. The first orbiter, ''Enterprise'', made its maiden flight in 1977. An unpowered glider, it was carried by a modified Boeing 747 airliner called the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and released for a series of atmospheric test flights and landings. ''Enterprise'' was partially disassembled and retired aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
