Space Shuttle program

This article is about the NASA Space Shuttle. For information on the Soviet Space Shuttles, see the articles Shuttle Buran and Ptichka.

Related Topics:
Shuttle Buran - Ptichka

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States government's sole manned launch vehicle currently in service. The Space Shuttle orbiter was manufactured by North American Rockwell, now part of the Boeing Company. Martin Marietta (now part of Lockheed Martin) designed the external fuel tank and Morton Thiokol (now the Thiokol corporation) designed the solid rocket boosters.

Related Topics:
NASA - United States - Manned - Launch vehicle - North American Rockwell - Boeing Company - Martin Marietta - Lockheed Martin - Thiokol corporation - Solid rocket booster

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Shuttle is the first orbital spacecraft designed for partial reusability. It carries large payloads to various orbits, provides crew rotation for the International Space Station (ISS), and performs servicing missions. While the vehicle was designed with the capacity to recover satellites and other payloads from orbit and return them to Earth, this capacity has not been used often; it is, however, an important use of the Space Shuttle in the context of the ISS program, as only very small amounts of experimental material, hardware needing to be repaired, and trash can be returned by Soyuz.

Related Topics:
Spacecraft - Reusability - International Space Station - Soyuz

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Each Shuttle was designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or 10-years operational life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The program started in the late 1960s and has dominated NASA's manned operations since the mid-1970s. According to the Vision for Space Exploration, use of the Space Shuttle will be focused on completing assembly of the ISS in 2010, after which it will be replaced by the yet-to-be-developed Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). However, following the STS-114 return-to-flight mission in August 2005, the Shuttle program is currently grounded pending repairs and the solution of outstanding safety issues.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1970s - Vision for Space Exploration - 2010 - Crew Exploration Vehicle - STS-114

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Further aggravating the shuttle's return to space, also in August 2005, the Space Shuttle external tank construction site, Michoud Assembly Facility located in New Orleans, Louisiana was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, with all work shifts cancelled up to September 26, 2005. This could potentially set back further Shuttle flights by more than two months.

Related Topics:
Space Shuttle external tank - Michoud Assembly Facility - New Orleans, Louisiana - Hurricane Katrina

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The NASA Chief Administrator Michael Griffin has recently implied the decision to develop the Space Shuttle and International Space Station was a mistake by saying, "It is now commonly accepted that was not the right path. We are now trying to change the path while doing as little damage as we can." http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050928/1a_bottomstrip28.art.htm

Related Topics:
Michael Griffin - International Space Station

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~