The Space Shuttle is a reusable spacecraft that is used to transport astronauts into Earth's orbit to assist in space exploration.
There have been five different orbiters built for the space shuttle program, the Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor. The Columbia orbiter completed five sucessful missions. Challenger and crew were tragically lost in an accident in January, 1986.
The space shuttle is launched from the Earth with the help of three engines and two rocket boosters. The rocket boosters seperate from the orbiter and the fuel tank before reaching orbit. Upon reaching the Earth's orbit, the external fuel tank separates from the orbiter. The orbiter is equipped with two small rockets which enable the astronauts to re-enter the atmosphere and rudders which aid in landing the craft like an airplane on the surface.
Shuttle