The smallest crew ever to fly on the Shuttle numbered two people on the first few missions. Normally, missions may be planned for anywhere from five to 16 days in duration. The longest the Shuttle has stayed in orbit on any single mission is 17.5 days on mission STS-80 in November 1996. All of the components are reused except for the external fuel tank, which burns up in the atmosphere after each launch. The Space Shuttle consists of three major components: the Orbiter which houses the crew a large External Tank that holds fuel for the main engines and two Solid Rocket Boosters which provide most of the Shuttle's lift during the first two minutes of flight. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. Photo Credit: NASAĬolumbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Image left: The components of the Space Shuttle system: Orbiter, External Tank, and Solid Rocket Boosters. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation - Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour - is designed to fly at least 100 missions. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. The Space Shuttle is the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. + NASA Home > Mission Sections > Space Shuttle > Return to Flight > Space Shuttle System * weight will vary depending on payloads and on board consumables. NASA - Shuttle Basics The site requires that JavaScripts be enabled in your browser.

Space shuttle