Space Shuttle

NASA / Rockwell

America's iconic reusable spaceplane — a partial reusability concept that defined a generation.

The Space Transportation System (STS), or Space Shuttle, flew 135 missions between 1981 and 2011. It launched satellites including the Hubble Space Telescope, built and serviced the International Space Station, and returned to land like an aircraft. Two of the five orbiters — Challenger and Columbia — were lost with their crews.

Fun facts

The Space Shuttle was the only spacecraft designed to both launch like a rocket and land like an airplane.

The Hubble Space Telescope, deployed by the Shuttle in 1990, has made over 1.5 million astronomical observations.

The SSME engines were reused up to 55 times — a record for rocket engine durability of their era.

Height

56.1 m

Diameter

8.7 m

Mass

2,030 t

Stages

Thrust