Conceived in the late 1960′s (before Apollo 11 landed on the moon), the Space Shuttle program was launched on January 5, 1972.  Initially proposed to be completely reusable, the final design sacrificed the external tank.  The external tank was originally larger, and was to be carried into orbit and used in a future space station.

NASA - Some of these look pretty cool.

The first orbiter, Enterprise, rolled out September 17, 1976.  Of course, Enterprise was never intended to go into orbit.  It was a glider; built without engines or heat shield.  It performed test flights in the atmosphere.  It is now the property of the Smithsonian Institution.

The first true space shuttle was the Columbia, delivered March 25, 1979.  Columbia launched May12, 1981, the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s space flight.  The Shuttle completed 27 missions, and was destroyed at the end of its 28th.

Next was Challenger, completed in July, 1982.  It completed 9 missions, and was destroyed at the beginning of its 10th.

Discovery, November 1983, completed 38 missions, and is currently on its 39th.

Atlantis, April 1985, completed 32 missions.

Endeavor, May 1991, completed 24 missions.

NASA - Maiden launch of the Program

The Shuttle Program is now facing mandatory retirement, as you know.  Originally, the program was to be followed by the Orion Spacecraft and the Project Constellation; however, all future plans for the US to participate in manned spaceflight are now shelved.  This gap will supposedly be filled by the private sector.

No matter how many times I write that, I just cannot come up with anything nice to say following that statement.  So-o-o-o-o-o-o-o….

Let’s look back with appreciation on all the Space Shuttle program has accomplished, including missions to SpaceLab, ISS, and MIR.  It serviced Hubble, transported equipment and crews, became a lab for experiments, and was instrumental in the success of the Galileo spacecraft and the Ulysses and Magellan probes.

Goodbye.  We’ll miss you.

NASA - Atlantis into orbit