Space Shuttle
USA Wikipedia 
Built & Operated By
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Government · founded 1958
Maiden Flight
12 APR 1981
Flight Life
14 days
About
The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable LEO spacecraft system operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. The first of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights in 1982. In addition to the prototype whose completion was cancelled, five complete Shuttle systems were built and used on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST); conducted science experiments in orbit; and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station. The Shuttle fleet's total mission time was 1322 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds.
Spacecraft Specifications
Height
56.1 m
Diameter
8.7 m
Crew Capacity
7
Payload Capacity
27,500 kg
Rating
Human-rated
Capability
Carrying a crew of 7 astronauts along with cargo to Low Earth Orbit.
Operational History
The Space shuttle was a United States space craft. Following the conclusion of the Apollo program the Space Shuttle intended to lower costs for reliable access to Low Earth Orbit. The program ran from 1981-2011.