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The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. [1]
In the last two minutes of the mission, during Space Shuttle Columbia's final approach to the Edwards AFB runway, hydrazine fuel leaked onto hot surfaces of two of the three onboard auxiliary power units (APU) in the aft compartment of the shuttle and caught fire. About 15 minutes after landing, hydrazine fuel trapped in the APU control valves ...
In January 1971, NASA and Air Force leadership decided that a reusable delta-wing orbiter mounted on an expendable propellant tank would be the optimal design for the Space Shuttle. [ 8 ] : 166 After they established the need for a reusable, heavy-lift spacecraft, NASA and the Air Force determined the design requirements of their respective ...
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011.
All sites have runways of sufficient length to support the landing of a Space Shuttle, and included personnel from NASA as well as equipment to aid a space shuttle landing. [12] Zaragoza Air Base features Runway 30L with a length of 12,109 ft (3,691 m); [ 13 ] Morón Air Base features an 11,800 ft (3,600 m) runway; [ 14 ] and Istres Air Base ...
The Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle was a study by NASA to turn the Space Shuttle launch stack into a dedicated uncrewed cargo launcher. The external tank and Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) would be combined with a cargo module that took the place of the shuttle orbiter and included the Space Shuttle Main Engines.
Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA.Named after the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, and the female personification of the United States, Columbia was the first of five Space Shuttle orbiters to fly in space, debuting the Space Shuttle launch vehicle on its maiden flight on April 12, 1981 and ...
It discusses the history of the Space Shuttle program, and documents the post-disaster recovery and investigation efforts. [90] Michael Leinbach, a retired Launch Director at KSC who was working on the day of the disaster, released Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew in 2018. It documents his personal ...