Space Shuttle Program
The Era of the Reusable Spaceplane
Program Overview
The Space Shuttle program (Space Transportation System, or STS) was NASA's crewed orbital launch system from 1981 to 2011. Utilizing a reusable winged orbiter launched with solid rocket boosters and a liquid fuel tank, the fleet of five orbiters—Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour—flew 135 missions. The Shuttle deployed satellites, carried the Spacelab module, retrieved and repaired spacecraft (such as the Hubble Space Telescope), and was the primary vehicle used to construct the International Space Station.
Archival Image
Missions & Launches
Crewed Flight Log
Showing first 15 crewed flights. Search the Missions Directory for more.
Uncrewed / Robotic Log
No uncrewed flights in this program.