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Rockwell Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle orbiter is the spaceplane component of the Space Shuttle, a partially reusable launch system, reusable orbital spaceflight, 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 atmospheric entry, re-enter the atmosphere and land as a glider aircraft, glider, returning its crew and any on-board payload to the Earth. Six orbiters were built for flight: ''Space Shuttle Enterprise, Enterprise'', ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', ''Space Shuttle Challenger, Challenger'', ''Space Shuttle Discovery, Discovery'', ''Space Shuttle Atlantis, Atlantis'', and ''Space Shuttle Endeavour, 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 unpo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103) is one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984. Over 27 years of service it launched and landed 39 times, aggregating more spaceflights than any other spacecraft to date. The Space Shuttle launch vehicle has three main components: the Space Shuttle orbiter, a single-use central fuel tank, and two reusable solid rocket boosters. Nearly 25,000 heat-resistant tiles cover the orbiter to protect it from high temperatures on re-entry. ''Discovery'' became the third operational orbiter to enter service, preceded by '' Columbia'' and '' Challenger''. It embarked on its final mission, STS-133, on February 24, 2011, and touched down for the last time at Kennedy Space Center on March 9, having spent a cumulative total of nearly a full year in space. ''Discovery'' performed both ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
