space shuttle, formally Space Transportation System (STS), Partially reusable rocket-launched vehicle developed by NASA to go into Earth orbit, transport people and cargo between Earth and orbiting spacecraft, and glide to a runway landing on Earth. The first flight of a space shuttle into orbit took place in 1981. The shuttle consisted of: a winged orbiter that carried the crew and cargo; an expendable external tank of liquid fuel and oxidizer for the orbiter’s three main rocket engines; and two large, reusable, solid-propellant booster rockets. The orbiter lifted off vertically like an expendable launch vehicle but made an unpowered descent similar to a glider. Each orbiter was designed to be reused up to 100 times. For manipulating cargo and other materials outside the orbiter, astronauts used a remotely controlled robot arm or exited the orbiter wearing space suits. On some missions, the shuttle carried a European-built pressurized research facility called Spacelab in its cargo bay. Between 1981 and 1985 four shuttle orbiters were put into service: Columbia (the first in orbit), Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Challenger exploded in 1986 during launch, killing all seven astronauts aboard, and was replaced in 1992 by Endeavour. From 1995 to 1998 NASA conducted shuttle missions to the Russian space station Mir to prepare for the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). Beginning in 1998, the shuttle was used extensively to ferry components, supplies, and crews to the ISS. In 2003 Columbia disintegrated while returning from a space mission, claiming the lives of its seven-person crew. The last space shuttle flight was in 2011.
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