The History of the American Space Shuttle

From an award-winning NASA insider: a detailed history of the American Space Shuttle Program, from its inception to its final mission.

The flight campaign for the American space shuttle began on April twelve, 1981, with the launch of STS-one from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and ended on July twenty-one, 2011, with wheels stop of STS-135. During the thirty years and 135 missions in between, the program experienced triumphs and tragedies, amazed the world with its orbital exploits, and was frequently the subject of admiration, condemnation, pride, and despair.

This book provides a detailed overview of the history of winged spacecraft and the development of the vehicle we call the “space shuttle,” and provides a technical description of the orbiter, main engines, external tank, and solid rocket boosters. Also included are details about each of the 135 missions flown by the American space shuttle, including technical data, crew names, and photos of each mission. The Challenger and Columbia accidents are discussed, as well as what NASA did to fix the flaws and continue flying. The book concludes by covering the retirement of the vehicle and the delivery of the four remaining orbiters to their final display sites.