NASA PHOTO: Columbia Liftoff April 12, 1981

Shuttle Program:
The First Space Plane

Even before the Apollo moon program was complete, construction plans were being developed for a reusable spacecraft, a spaceplane designed to be launched, flown in space with heavy payloads, re-enter Earth's atmosphere, and land on a runway instead of splashing down in the ocean. In 1969, President Nixon made the decision to proceed with the Shuttle program, thus launching a new era in space travel.

There were five space-certified shuttle orbiters constructed. Two of those were destroyed in tragic accidents.

• Atlantis

• Challenger

• Columbia

• Discovery

• Endeavour

These space planes were about half the length of a 747 jet. They took off from Kennedy Space Center using 3 massive onboard engines and 2 external rockets for additional lift. So much fuel was required to give the shuttle into Earth orbit, than a massive fuel tank was necessary. Once released, the fuel tank would be destroyed upon re-entry. The booster rockets would be recovered downrange and reused.

Once the shuttle reaches low-Earth orbit, it makes a maneuver so that the spaceplane is flying backwards to protect the sensitive thermal protection system (the tiles) from damage from any space debris that might be unexpectedly encountered.

During its 30 year span, the shuttles launched and repaired a great number of satellites including the Hubble. They made construction of the International Space Station possible.

However, the idea of a reusable spacecraft was to reduce costs. It would be the costs involved to fly the shuttle safely, that ultimately doomed it. At the end of the shuttle program, it was cheaper to lift heavy payloads into space with a single rocket, than to launch the shuttle.

End of the Shuttles

In 2011, the shuttle program officially came to an end. The 3 remaining space-certified shuttles are being modified for museum display and are heading for various areas across the country. Atlantis is the only shuttle that will remain at the Kennedy Space Center as part of a new pavilion dedicated to the shuttle program. This pavilion is part of a renovation of the Kennedy Space Center and is expected to open sometime in 2012.

Shuttle Tiles

Re-entry of vehicles from space back into Earth's atmosphere has always been a dangerous proposition from the very beginning. As the speeding spacecraft begins its final descent, the friction between the spacecraft and the atmosphere can cause temperatures on the surface of the craft to exceed 3,000 degrees, more than enough to melt most metals. For the early manned capsule flights, a heat shield was incorporated on the bottom portion of the capsule that would take the brunt of these extremes.

ABOVE NASA PHOTO: Shuttle Discovery's tiles being photographed from the International Space Station in an effort to determine any damage.

The space shuttle was designed to be reused and so a system using small silica ceramic tiles was developed. They were lightweight and could be replaced if damaged.

It took 24,300 special ceramic tiles to cover the exterior of the shuttle. However, it soon became apparent that the lightweight tiles often suffered damage during the flight and required much more extensive repairs after returning to earth. Much of the damage was caused by a change in the foam insulation design on the external tank that caused some chunks of the insulating material to break loose during liftoff. Even small pieces of foam could damage the lightweight tiles.

NASA PHOTO: Launch of STS-107 - 1/16/2003