Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th and final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission ended on February 1, 2003, with the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which killed all seven crew members and destroyed the space shuttle.
The original intention was to compensate for this lower payload by lowering the per-launch costs and a high launch frequency. However, the actual costs of a Space Shuttle launch were higher than initially predicted, and the Space Shuttle did not fly the intended 24 missions per year as initially predicted by NASA. [66] [28]: III–489–490
STS-134 Space Shuttle launch. The Space Shuttle had been scheduled to be retired from service after STS-133, but controversy over the cancellation of several International Space Station components, most notably the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, in order to meet deadlines for the retirement of the shuttle, caused the United States Government to ...
The shuttle program was marked by triumphs and failures, including the 2003 Columbia disaster. The tragedies left a lasting mark on the perception of risks in space.
The Space Shuttle's operations were supported by vehicles and infrastructure that facilitated its transportation, construction, and crew access. The crawler-transporters carried the MLP and the Space Shuttle from the VAB to the launch site. [30] The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) were two modified Boeing 747s that could carry an orbiter on its ...
The longest orbital flight of the Shuttle was STS-80 at 17 days 15 hours, while the shortest flight was STS-51-L at one minute 13 seconds when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart during launch. The cold morning shrunk an O-Ring on the right Solid Rocket Booster causing the external fuel tank to explode.
The positioning had to be precise. The shuttle's nose was raised 200 feet into the night sky so that the rudder could clear 80 feet of space. Endeavour was then turned 17 degrees clockwise to ...
STS-135 Space Shuttle launch video The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis. The launch day was threatened by unfavorable weather leaving only a 30% chance of a launch occurring; [69] this changed an hour before launch to 60% chance of launch. [70] Launch director Mike Leinbach conducted the final series of GO/NO GO polls to verify the launch ...