The Space Shuttle orbiter is the
spaceplane component of the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
, a partially
reusable orbital
Orbital may refer to:
Sciences Chemistry and physics
* Atomic orbital
* Molecular orbital
* Hybrid orbital Astronomy and space flight
* Orbit
** Earth orbit
Medicine and physiology
* Orbit (anatomy), also known as the ''orbital bone''
* Orbito ...
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to spaceflight, fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth ...
system that was part of the discontinued
Space Shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. I ...
. Operated from 1977 to 2011 by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...
, the U.S. space agency, this vehicle could carry astronauts and payloads into
low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never m ...
, 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
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical