From its first launch 30 years ago to its last flight, spaceship NASA has seen moments of ups and downs. This program has made up to 135 flights, delivered more than 350 people and thousands of tons of materials and equipment into low Earth orbit. The flights were risky, sometimes extremely dangerous. Indeed, over the years, 14 shuttle astronauts have died.
During a visit to watch the Apollo launch, April 16 to 15, 1972, Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko (left) listens as Kennedy Space Center director Dr. Kurt H. explains the space shuttle programs 
Layout of the proposed Space Shuttle wing configuration. The photo was taken on March 28, 1975. 
This is a November 6, 1975 picture: a mock-up spacecraft attached to a 747 carrier, in a wind tunnel. 
Part of the cast of the television series Star Trek attended the first screening of America's first spaceship, in Palmdale, California on September 17, 1976. On the left are Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Forest Kelly and James Doohan. 
An inside view of a hydrogen tank destined for the Space Shuttle on February 1, 1977. At 154 meters long and over 27 feet in diameter, the outer tank is the largest component of the spacecraft, the structural backbone of the entire Shuttle system. 
A technician works with sensors installed in the back of a mock spacecraft on February 15, 1977. 
At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this mock spacecraft, dubbed the Pathfinder, is being attached to a test fit device on October 19, 1978. A mock-up built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, had the overall dimensions, weight, and balance of a real space shuttle. 
NASA's Space Shuttle Carrier prototype 747 flies after taking off from the dry bed of Rogers Lake for the second of five free flights at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, since January 1, 1977. 
Space Shuttle Columbia arrives at Launch Complex 39A in preparation for the STS-1 mission at the Kennedy Space Center on December 29, 1980. 
Astronauts John Young (left) and Robert Crippen look at spacecraft instruments in NASA's Orbiter 102 Columbia as they prepare the spacecraft for testing, which will take place during the orbiter's test flight, at Kennedy Space Center October 10, 1980 
Flight Director Charles R. Lewis (left) examines a graph displayed on a flight control area monitor (MOCR) at Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in April 1981. 
Two solid-propellant rocket boosters are dropped from the Columbia shuttle as a successful launch. This has been the case for spaceflight since 1975. April 12, 1981 
The shuttle Columbia on the dry bed of Rogers Lake at Edwards AFB completed its first orbital mission on April 14, 1981 after landing. 
A Columbia shuttle atop a NASA Boeing 747 at Edwards Air Force Base, California on November 25, 1981 
Night launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia, during the twenty-fourth mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program, January 12, 1986 
Astronaut Sally Ride, STS-7 specialist, monitors the control panels in the pilot's seat in the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Challenger on June 25, 1983. 
The Space Shuttle Enterprise is transported over a slope that has been widened to avoid hitting its wings, to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on February 1, 1985. The orbiter is being transported to the space launch complex, with six specially designed 76-wheeled transporters on board. 
General form spacecraft in launch position at Space Rocket Complex (SLC) No. 6, ready for launch test to verify launch procedures at Vandenberg Air Force Base, on February 1, 1985 
The Space Shuttle Discovery, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, after completing its 26th space mission. 
Christa McAuliffe tries out the Shuttle Simulator Flight Deck Command Seat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on September 13, 1985. McAuliffe was scheduled to make a space flight on the Space Shuttle Challenger in January 1986, which ended in tragedy. 
Ice on Launch Pad 39-B, January 27, 1986 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, causing the ill-fated launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger 
Spectators in the VIP area at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, watch as the Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off pad 39-B on January 28, 1986, on its tragic final flight. 
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Center. The hull with a crew of seven, including the first teacher in space, was destroyed, all on board died 
Spectators at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida after they witnessed the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986 
Space Shuttle Columbia (left), slated for takeoff STS-35, passes the Atlantis spacecraft on its way to Pad 39A. Atlantis, scheduled for mission STS-38, parked in front of the bay to repair liquid hydrogen lines 
A Florida Air National Guard F-15C Eagle performs a patrol mission for the Space Shuttle Endeavor launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on December 5, 2001. 
The nose of the space shuttle Atlantis, seen from the Russian space station Mir in the STS-71 mission, June 29, 1995. 
Cosmonaut Valery Vladimirovich Polyakov, who was at the station on January 8, 1994, goes out to open the spacecraft 
Specialist Bruce McCandless II flew farther from the Space Shuttle Challenger than any previous astronaut February 12, 1984 photos 
Shuttle main engine test at the Marshall Space Flight Center test facility, in Huntsville, Alabama, December 22, 1993 
Astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, STS-82 mission specialist, exits outer space in order to conduct experiments on photographic film on February 16, 1997 
The two components of the International Space Station joined together on December 6, 1998. The Russian FGB, also called Zarya, is approaching the Shuttle Endeavor 
During the first Iraq War, in April 1991, black smoke from burning oil wells in the Kuwait desert was seen from the orbit of the space shuttle Atlantis during the STS-37 mission. The Iraqi army set fire to oil wells in Kuwait when it left that country. 
Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-134) makes its final landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 1, 2011. 
Puffs of smoke and steam interspersed with fiery light during the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor at NASA Kennedy Space Center at 39A in July 2009. 
The external fuel tank of Shuttle ET-118, which departed in September 2006, was photographed by astronauts aboard the shuttle about 21 minutes after takeoff. 
The shuttle training model parachutes into Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, where they will be pulled by ships, returned to land, and are being refitted for reuse 
Although astronauts and cosmonauts often encounter startling scenes, this is a unique image that has the added bonus of being set against the backdrop of the Endeavor Space Shuttle silhouette. 
NASA's Columbia shuttle Boeing 747 flies from Palmdale, California to Kennedy Space Center, Florida on March 1, 2001. 
The high temperatures faced by the Space Shuttle were simulated in the tunnels at Langley in a 1975 test of thermal insulation materials to be used on the shuttles. 
Fire and rescue personnel prepare to evacuate as two "cosmonauts" prepare to exit in rescue training in Palmdale, California on April 16, 2005. 
The Space Shuttle Challenger moves through fog on crawler tractors on its way to Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A on November 30, 1982. 
The shuttle Discovery will launch from Cape Canaveral on October 29. On the beach, children watch him. 
The Hubble Space Telescope begins its separation from the shuttle Discovery on February 19, 1997. 
This photo taken from Earth with a solar-filtered telescope shows NASA's shuttle Atlantis silhouetted against the Sun Tuesday, May 12, 2009, from Florida 
The silhouette of the Space Shuttle Columbia Commander, Kenneth Cockrall, is seen from the aircraft's front windows on December 7, 1996. 
Space Shuttle Discovery lands in the Mojave Desert on September 11, 2009 at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base near Mojave, California 
Space Shuttle Endeavor rests aboard an aircraft at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Foundation, Edwards, California, shortly before being ferried back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida 
Space Shuttle Discovery streaks brightly across the morning darkness as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A on its 10-day Hubble Space Telescope maintenance flight. 
At the end of the flight, the Space Shuttle Discovery managed to document the beginning of the second day of activity of the Rabaul volcano, on the eastern tip of New Britain. On the morning of September 19, 1994, two volcanic cones on opposite sides of the 6 km crater began to erupt into the sea 
Space Shuttle Atlantis above Earth, close to docking in orbit with the International Space Station in 2007 
After a catastrophic landing failure, debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia is visible in the sky on the morning of February 1, 2003. The orbiter and all seven crew members are killed. 
The wreckage of Columbia is laid out on the grid to determine the causes of the disaster. March 13, 2003 
Preparations for the Space Shuttle Discovery slowly assemble due to lightning at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A in Florida on August 4, 2009. 
astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, Jr. (left) and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang, as STS-116 mission specialists, participate in the first of three planned spacewalks to build the International Space Station on December 12, 2006 . Against the backdrop of New Zealand. 
Xenon lights assist the landing of Space Shuttle Endeavor. NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 
The docking of the shuttle Endeavor, against the background of a night view of the Earth and the starry sky, is photographed by the expedition at the International Space Station on May 28, 2011 
At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the STS-133 crew rests from a simulation launch countdown at the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39A 
A condensation wave, backlit by the sun, occurred during the launch of Atlantis on STS-106 on September 8, 2001. 
The International Space Station and the docked shuttle Endeavor flying at an altitude of about 220 kilometers. It's May 23, 2011 
From the day it first launched 30 years ago to its last flight into space, scheduled for Friday, NASA's shuttle flight program has seen both moments of unimaginable inspiration and unbearable disappointment. By the time of its scheduled launch this week, the program will have completed 135 missions, during which 350 people and thousands of tons of materials and equipment have been delivered to low Earth orbit. 14 astronauts have given their lives to this program - missions have always been risky, repairs difficult, and the danger too high. In this issue, we invite you to take a look at the history of the shuttle flight program, which is about to end.
(Total 30 photos)
1. The space shuttle Columbia takes off from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981. On board the first flight of the shuttle flight program were Commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen. (Reuters/NASA/KSC)
2. Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko (left) listens as Kennedy Space Center Manager Dr. Kurt Debus talks about the shuttle flight program on April 15, 1972. On the right in the foreground is a model of one of the proposed rocket and shuttle concepts. (AP Photo)
5. Part of the crew of the television series "Star Trek" at the first presentation of the first space shuttle in Palmdale, California, September 17, 1976. Left to right: Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, DeForest Kelly and James Doohan. (AP Photo)
6. Inside view of the tank with liquid hydrogen, created for the outer tank of the Space Shuttle, February 1, 1977. At 46.9 meters long and over 8 meters in diameter, the outer tank is the largest part of the shuttle, the structural backbone of the entire shuttle system, and the only part of the craft that is not reused. (NASA)
7. A technician works with sensors installed in the back of a shuttle model on February 15, 1977. (NASA)
8. This copy of the space shuttle is called "Pathfinder" on October 19, 1978. The model, created at NASA's Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, shares the dimensions, weight, and balance of a real shuttle. (NASA)
9. The prototype shuttle "Enterprise" in free flight after undocking from aircraft carrier 747 during the second of five tests at the Dryden Research Center in Edwards, California, January 1, 1977. The tail cone of the engine bay smoothed out turbulent airflow during flight. It was removed during the last two flights to test landing characteristics. (NASA)
10. Space shuttle "Columbia" on the launch platform 39A before the flight into space on December 19, 1980. (Reuters/NASA/KSC)
11. Astronauts John Young (left) and Robert Crippen are preparing for work in outer space, which should begin during a test flight into orbit, at the Kennedy Space Center on October 10, 1980.
12. Flight Director Charles R. Lewis (left) examines a map on a monitor at Space Flight Control Center at Johnson Center in April 1981. (NASA)
13. Two solid-fuel boosters detached from the space shuttle Columbia during the successful launch of the first operation in space since 1975 in April 1981. On board the Columbia were astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen. (NASA)
14. Shuttle "Columbia" at the bottom of the dry Rogers Lake after landing to complete the first orbital flight on April 14, 1981. Technicians pulled the shuttle back to the Dryden Research Center for post-flight inspection and preparation for a return flight with cargo to the Kennedy Center in Florida. (NASA/JSC)
15. Shuttle "Columbia" on a carrier aircraft on November 25, 1981 in California. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon)
17. Astronaut Sally Ride checks the instrument panel on the flight deck on June 25, 1983. A notebook flies in front of her. (Reuters/NASA)
18. Shuttle "Enterprise" is being driven along the road, widened specifically for its wings, at Vandenberg Airfield in California on February 1, 1985. The shuttle was transported to the launch complex on a 76-wheeled transporter. (Tech. Sgt. Bill Thompson/USAF)
19. General view of the Enterprise space shuttle ready for launch during the last checks on February 1, 1985. (Tech. Sgt. Bill Thompson/USAF)
20. The Space Shuttle Discovery has landed at Edward Base in California after completing its 26th spaceflight. (Tech. Sgt. Mike Haggerty/USAF)
21. Christa McAuliffe in the command chair on the flight deck of the shuttle simulator at the Johnson Center in Houston, Texas, September 13, 1985. McAuliffe prepared to fly on the Challenger shuttle in January 1986. (AP Photo)
22. Icicles on the equipment on the launch pad 39A on January 27, 1986 at the Kennedy Space Center before the most deplorably ended flight of the Challenger shuttle. (AP Photo/NASA)
23. Spectators in the VIP area watch the launch of the Challenger shuttle from platform 39B on January 28, 1986. (AP Photo/Bruce Weaver)
24. The explosion of the shuttle "Challenger" 73 seconds after takeoff from the Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle with seven crew members, including the first ordinary person - teacher Christa McAuliffe, exploded. No one survived. (NASA)
25. Spectators are horrified after the explosion of the Challenger shuttle. (AP Photo)
26. Ready to fly shuttle "Columbia" (left) is transported past the shuttle "Atlantis" to the launch pad 39A. Mission-ready STS-38 "Atlantis" is parked in front of the third hall of the vertical assembly building for the repair of liquid hydrogen pipes. (NASA)
27. An F-15C Eagle during a patrol flight on December 5, 2001. (Tsgt. Shaun Withers/USAF)
29. Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov looks out of the window of the Mir station during docking with the Discovery shuttle. (NASA)
30. Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless second during a spacewalk. Photo taken from the Challenger shuttle on February 12, 1984. It was the farthest spacewalk from the station ever made by a man. (Reuters/NASA)
Today we will tell you how to make a small scale from a simple sheet of paper. space shuttle model.
We hope that Paper shuttle will be a good addition to the previously published folding instructions.
Reference: The Shuttle is an American reusable spacecraft that was used to deliver cargo to the earth's orbit. From 1981 to 2011, five shuttles were created by the American space agency NASSA.
We fold the Shuttle out of paper
In order to make a flying model of the Shuttle out of paper, you will need a regular rectangular sheet of A-4 paper, which will need to be folded according to the instructions given:
- Fold a sheet of paper in half as shown below.
Fold the sheet in half
- Then, from the lower right corner, measure 4 cm and make a bend line that should be tucked into the middle.
Now fold the right corner
- After that, we proceed to the manufacture of wings, for this it is necessary to step back 2 cm from the lower left corner and bend two wings.
Step back 2 cm and bend the wings
- Now bend the edges of the wings as shown below.
Folding the edges of the wings
- Turn the shuttle as shown and fold the wings in line with the ship's hull.
Folding the wings again
- Bend the wings again, but already up.
And once again we bend our wings
- Shuttle - READY!
In order to make the paper shuttle more neat and beautiful, we suggest printing the following paper shuttle scheme on the printer.
Watch the video tutorial "How to make a Shuttle out of paper."
Space shuttle program
Space shuttle. It was supposed to scurry from Earth to orbit and back like a loom shuttle. The shuttle program began in 1971. In 1975, a prototype (not flying into space) Enterprise was built, then 5 more were built - Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor. The first shuttle Columbia launched on April 12, 1981, the last - Atlantis - on July 8, 2011. Two shuttles were lost - Challenger (January 28, 1986, at the start) and Columbia (February 1, 2003, during landing). In total, only 135 launches were carried out during the duration of the program, although 32 launches per year and 100 launches for each shuttle were originally planned.
A small and lyrical digression.
My wife and I are very interested in space, and my wife is probably even more than me. Somehow, looking through one of the sites on space topics, we saw this model for sale. It was the presence of the launch pad that bribed. I decided again (for the fourth time) to turn to modeling. The first time it happened was 35 years ago. I glued all the tanks from Ogonyok that were on sale. The next approach was 5 years later - aircraft from Frog. I then even painted one in camouflage with a borrowed airbrush. Then I had to fight for a place in the sun and it was not up to modeling. After another 10 years, I began to collect models with a child, but he grew up, somehow did not captivate him with modeling, and I had to curtail this event (selected workplace). And then the fourth attempt came... I bought paints, chemicals, an airbrush with a compressor, and, of course, cats of varying complexity (because I was scared to assemble this model). Although, now, the model does not seem very complicated to me, there are just a lot of details.
Purchase
While I was preparing and training (in fact, I made a big mistake in choosing the first models and almost gave up this lesson), the model disappeared on that space site - apparently they bought it, despite the price of 15,900 rubles. Began to search. As if she was available on one single model site (in Russia). Ordered. A letter came that they would look for her. I asked if they would find it - they answered that everything would be fine, just wait until there is a delivery. Having studied the situation, I realized that if Revell released it again, it would not be fast at all - there was no model on the Revell website, especially since Revell positioned it as a Limited Edition. I had to look further and found it only on ebay somewhere in Germany in a small model store. Ordered and paid on February 5th. On February 22, from the post office (in fact, I am very afraid to contact my mail - I somehow ordered from the States - so they managed to send two parcels back, despite the fact that I went every other day and asked) I received an SMS about the arrival of the parcel, and in non-working mail hours. February 24 morning rushed to receive. Everything worked out - $169.98 model + $24.99 shipping. In rubles - the bank wrote off 15302 rubles.
Model
The box with the model in the photo was also packed in Revell's branded thick cardboard box and pasted over with another box on top. The contents were not damaged, although the outer box was damaged in several places. Further I will talk only about the box with the picture.
Box size - 752x514x120 mm. As a scale, I photographed with a small box of "Stars" 35 scale (they pack soldiers and other trifles there). The box is divided into three parts, as well as the instructions - launcher, shuttle and booster. The box contains 21 launch pad sprues, 4 shuttle sprues, 4 booster sprues (all white) and 1 transparent sprue with stand and shuttle glazing. Also in the box was an advertisement for special stages for a model from LVM Studios, but for their price I develop amphibious asphyxia (last photo).
There are also weights and flash. There are many pusher marks, but it is not yet clear whether they will be visible. Haven't checked connectivity yet. Moreover, the quality varies depending on the "part" of the model. The most terrible shuttle itself, then the launch vehicle, and, the best, the launch complex.
In general, the model causes rather conflicting feelings - it is some kind of "toy". No, the details seem to be clear, but, apparently, some little things are missing, large and even spaces “without nothing” look very strange.
The decals allow you to assemble Discovery before 1998 and in 2011, Endeavor 1998 / after 1998, as well as Anlantis and Enterprise.
Most likely, I will assemble Atlantis, as the last of the shuttles.
Initially, the space shuttle program was very ambitious. It was planned that each shuttle would be capable of launching into space up to 100 times. But to date, only 134 flights have been made. The final expedition of Atlantis will be the 135th. Successes and failures have gone hand in hand throughout the history of the project. The Space Shuttle program was suspended twice - in 1986, after the death of the Challenger, and in 2003, when the Columbia shuttle burned down during landing. As a result of these disasters, fourteen astronauts died. And yet, space shuttles have played a crucial role in the exploration of outer space. The project to create the ISS would not have been possible without the space shuttles, as well as the maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope.
In July 2011, the Space Shuttle program comes to an end. In this regard, we offer 40 photos illustrating the history of the manned space project USA for the last thirty years.
Historical photography - the first launch of the Space Shuttle program. Columbia launched into space on April 12, 1981. The STS-1 crew consisted of two people: commander John Young (John Young) and pilot Robert Crippen (Robert Crippen). Photo: Reuters/NASA/KSC
The first shuttle built, the Enterprise, was shown for the first time in Palmdale, California on September 17, 1975. In the photo - the actors from the series Star Trek. From left to right: Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, DeForest Kelly and James Doohan. The shuttle Enterprise has never been launched into space. Photo: AP Photo
The space shuttle program dates back to the 1960s, before the Americans landed on the moon. Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko (left) arrived at Cape Canaveral as part of the Soviet delegation on April 15, 1972 to launch Apollo 16 to the Moon. In this photo, the then director of the Space Center. Kennedy Kurt H. Debus explains to Yevtushenko the concept of the space shuttle program. At the same time, the poet looks thoughtfully at the model of the space shuttle. Photo: AP Photo
A model of a shuttle mounted on a Boeing 747 inside a wind tunnel. Photo taken November 6, 1975. Photo: NASA
"Pathfinder" (Pathfinder), life-size model of the shuttle, at the Space Center. Kennedy, October 19, 1978. Photo: NASA
February 1, 1977 The largest element of the Space Shuttle system is the external liquid fuel tank. It is 46 meters long and about 8 meters in diameter. Photo: NASA
February 15, 1977, wind tunnel. A technician installs sensors on a shuttle model. Photo: NASA
The Enterprise shuttle in free hover during its second test flight on January 1, 1977. In total, 5 flights of the Enterprise were made, in which the landing of space shuttles was practiced. The last two flights were made without the tail cone, which was removed for the most accurate test of the shuttle's landing characteristics. Photo: NASA
The space shuttle program begins. December 29, 1980 "Columbia" is preparing for the first flight into space. Photo: Reuters/NASA/KSC
Astronauts John Young (left) and Robert Crippen (right) made up the STS-1 crew. The Columbia shuttle launched on April 12, 1981, exactly 20 years after the flight of Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin. The picture shows the astronauts during training at the Space Center. Kennedy October 10, 1980. Photo: Reuters/NASA/KSC
Flight Director Charles R. Lewis (left) in the MCC control room. April 1981 Photo: NASA
The separation of spent solid-fuel boosters has just occurred, and the Columbia shuttle continues its ascent into orbit. On board are astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen. With the flight of STS-1, US manned space flights resumed. It happened 6 years after the completion of the Apollo program (1975). Photo: NASA
On April 14, 1981, two days after launch, the Columbia shuttle successfully landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Photo: NASA/JSC
The shuttle Columbia aboard a Boeing 747 takes off from Edwards Air Force Base. November 25, 1981 Photo: AP Photo/Lennox McLendon
Shuttle Challenger in Earth orbit. Astronaut Sally Ride, STS-7 mission specialist, monitors control monitors from the pilot's seat. June 25, 1983. Photo: Reuters/NASA
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The Enterprise shuttle is transported along a specially widened road. February 1, 1985. Photo: Bill Thompson/USAF
Shuttle "Enterprise" on the launch platform. Vandenberg Air Force Base, February 1, 1985. Despite the pre-launch picture, the entire Enterprise never rose into space. But its parts were used for other shuttles. Photo: Bill Thompson/USAF
Shuttle Discovery lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The 26th space mission has been completed. Photo: Mike Haggerty/USAF
Christa McAuliffe in the command chair on the simulator at the Space Center. Johnson, Houston, September 13, 1985. The former teacher won the national competition for the right to fly into space, which was organized by US President Ronald Reagan. Becoming the first non-professional astronaut, Christa McAuliffe joined the Challenger crew. The shuttle was supposed to take her and six other crew members into orbit in January 1986. Photo: AP Photo
Ice icicles on the equipment of launch pad 39-B at Cape Canaveral on January 27, 1986, on the eve of the ill-fated launch of the Challenger. Photo: AP Photo/NASA
Observers in the VIP box watch the launch of the Challenger on January 28, 1986. Photo: AP Photo/Bruce Weaver
As a result of the Challenger disaster, the Space Shuttle program was interrupted for 2.5 years. The explosion occurred 73 seconds after the launch of the shuttle. All seven crew members were killed. Photo: NASA
The shuttle Challenger just exploded. Public reaction. Cape Canaveral, Florida, January 28, 1986. Photo: AP Photo
Space shuttles Columbia (left) and Atlantis (right). Photo: NASA
Shuttle Endeavor takes off from an F-15C of the US National Guard. December 5, 2001. Photo: Shaun Withers/USAF
Fisheye photographed the Earth and the space shuttle Atlantis from the Mir station on June 29, 1995. Photo: NASA/JSC
Cosmonaut Valery Polyakov looks out of the window of the Mir station at the docking of the Discovery shuttle. January 8, 1994 Photo: NASA
Tests of the modified main engine of the shuttle at the center. Marshall. December 22, 1993. Photo: NASA/MSFC
Testing the shuttle skin materials for heat resistance at Langley. 1975 Photo: NASA
Frame from NASA video. Shuttle "Columbia" during landing on December 7, 1996. On the left is the silhouette of STS-80 crew commander Kenneth Cockrall (Kenneth Cockrall) against the backdrop of glowing orange plasma behind the windows of the shuttle. Photo: NASA/Getty Images
On February 1, 2003, the shuttle Columbia crashed in the sky over Texas at an altitude of 65 km and at a speed of about 5 km/s. All seven crew members were killed. Photo: AP Photo/Jason Hutchinson
March 13, 2003. Shuttle "Columbia", or rather, what was left of it, on the floor of the hangar. The number of fragments found will continue to grow. Photo: Reuters/NASA
Space Shuttle Discovery is launching a 10-day maintenance mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Photo: NASA
Endeavor at dawn. Ames-Dryden Center, California. Photo: NASA/Les Teal
Shuttle "Discovery" flies to the delight of children. As part of the STS-95 mission, astronaut John Glenn flew into space for the first time in 36 years. Photo: Reuters
Crew evacuation from the cabin of a burning shuttle is being practiced on a mock-up in Palmsdale, California. April 16, 2005. Photo: NASA/Tony Landis
