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space shuttle: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As STS • Space Transportation System

Photos and Videos

space shuttle Endeavour
Labeled diagram of a U.S. space shuttle showing its three main components: the winged orbiter with cargo bay and crew area, a large external liquid-propellant tank, and two solid-fuel rocket boosters, with key parts and systems identified.
Illustration of a U.S. space shuttle with two solid rocket boosters and an external fuel tank, shown upright next to a vertical meter scale ranging from 0 to over 50 meters.
space shuttle: Challenger, 1984
Spacelab 1
Challenger
Challenger explosion, 1986
International Space Station
Discovery
U.S. space shuttle Discovery
Witness the liftoff and landing of NASA's Columbia space shuttle crewed by astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen
space shuttle: Takeoff and landing
The impact and limitations of America's space shuttle program
Witness the relocation of the space shuttle Enterprise to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Complex in Manhattan, New York
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Topics
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Key People

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Ellison Onizuka
American astronaut
From outer space to the U.S. Senate
Mark Kelly
American astronaut and United States senator
Sally Ride
Sally Ride
American astronaut
Stephanie Wilson
Stephanie Wilson
American astronaut
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Michael Griffin
American aerospace engineer
Nicollier, Claude
Claude Nicollier
Swiss test pilot and astronaut
Ellen Ochoa
Ellen Ochoa
American astronaut and administrator
Āl Saʿūd, Salmān
Sultan ibn Salman Al Saud
Saudi royal and astronaut
Jeff Hoffman, wearing an orange NASA spacesuit, stands beside a U.S. flag and rests one hand on a helmet, posing for an official portrait.
Jeffrey Hoffman
American astronaut
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Scott Kelly
American astronaut
Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison
American physician and astronaut
Eileen Collins
Eileen Collins
American astronaut
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Pedro Duque
Spanish aeronautical engineer and astronaut
Morgan, Barbara
Barbara Morgan
American teacher and astronaut
John W. Young
John W. Young
American astronaut
STS-78; Thirsk, Robert
Robert Thirsk
Canadian astronaut
Ronald McNair.
Ronald McNair
American physicist and astronaut
Kathryn Sullivan
Kathryn Sullivan
American oceanographer and astronaut
The first teacher in space
Christa Corrigan McAuliffe
American educator
Bruce McCandless II
Bruce McCandless
American naval aviator and astronaut

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