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The Space Shuttle Program

On April 12, 1981, Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first launch of the newest member of NASA’s space fleet -- the space shuttle. After less than two days orbiting the Earth, Columbia glided back to Earth, landing on a runway at Edwards AFB in California.

Composed of two solid rocket boosters, an external fuel tank and a winged orbiter, the Space Shuttle is used to carry cargo to space. Cargo includes items such as supplies, -- like those ferried to the International Space Station -- satellites and experiments.

Space exploration is a risky business and the space shuttle program has not been exempt from danger and catastrophe. In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded seventy-three seconds after launch, killing all seven astronauts. In 2003, Columbia burned and broke apart over Texas as it tried to return to Earth. Its seven-astronaut crew perished as well.

As of July 2009, 40 years since the Apollo moon landing, there are only seven more shuttle missions remaining before the space shuttle program comes to an end. The end of the space shuttle program will not mean the end of space exploration. NASA plans to return to the moon by 2010 using the new Ares spacecraft, a new design based on the Saturn V.

In this mini unit, you can learn about the history of the space shuttles, find out what makes up a space shuttle, read about the most current mission, discover what the future holds for the remaining missions, learn how the shuttles were named, see a night launch of Discovery and build your own shuttle.

Reading

How Space shuttles work

The Orbiter

Read the details of each shuttle mission from 1981 through today (click +view)

Press kit for the most recent shuttle mission - STS-127(Endeavour)- launched in July of 2009

The Final shuttle missions

Future plans for NASA

Map & Timeline

Interactive timeline

Multimedia

Space shuttle slideshow

Video: How the shuttles were named

Video: Night launch of the Discovery space shuttle

Projects and Activities

Make a model of the space shuttle

Recommended Resource

The Space Shuttle: A Photographic History

With one hundred full-color photographs by Roger Ressmeyer and others and with text by popular astronomy writer Phil Harrington, "The Space Shuttle: A Photographic History" tells the fascinating and inspiring story of the space shuttle program from 1972 to 2003.

In over a hundred missions aboard six different shuttles, hundreds of astronauts from around the world have conducted thousands of space experiments and thrilled us with their orbital exploits.

For the first time, a beautiful photographic book allows the general reader to survey the history of the space shuttle program and be uplifted by the pioneering spirit of one of humanity's grandest enterprises.

Author: Philip S. Harrington
Click here to purchase at Amazon,
Amazon Price: $13.57