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Space shuttle orbiter5/10/2023 A sixth prototype shuttle orbiter, Enterprise, was used in glide tests in 1977, prior to the launch of the first shuttle mission ( STS-1) on April 12, 1981. In total, NASA constructed five shuttle orbiters for spaceflight: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. Since it was a much bigger spacecraft, the shuttle could also launch heavier and larger payloads into space, like International Space Station (ISS) modules and the Hubble Space Telescope! In fact, the shuttle was used to construct and sustain the ISS, carrying spare parts and supplies to the orbital laboratory over the years. Whereas Apollo could launch a crew of three, the shuttle could launch eight (although seven crew members seemed to be the average). This large aircraft-like space vehicle could accommodate much larger crew sizes than the spacecraft that came before. They appeared to have flown straight out of a science fiction movie. The shuttle lifted off into space like a rocket, but it landed like a plane. No one had ever seen anything like the shuttle orbiters. Spanning 30 years, NASA’s Space Shuttle program was revolutionary. While SpaceX is credited with launching the world’s first reusable rocket, NASA made history with the launch of the world’s first reusable spacecraft decades before. This unique vehicle had a profound impact on the history of human spaceflight and paved the way for future exploration. Solve space today by unscrambling this image of the world’s first reusable spacecraft, NASA’s space shuttle. This fall, we are exploring how space inspires progress.
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