Ÿ         A space shuttle is a reusable spacecraft that is a four-part vehicle: 1) a reusable orbiter (which resembles a jetliner) that is mounted piggy-back on 2) a liquid propellant external tank (that is not recovered) and 3) and 4) two reusable solid rocket boosters. 

  (Click to see a larger picture)

Ÿ         The NASA Shuttles are designed for routine entry into and use of space and operates in low Earth orbit.  In space the Shuttle serves as a base to deploy payloads, to repair and service satellites, and to serve as a platform for scientific research. 

Ÿ         When launched it is in the conventional manner of other spacecraft and operates like a spacecraft in orbit.

Ÿ         When the orbiter returns to Earth, upon entry into the atmosphere, it sails back like a glider and lands at a designated ground location.

Ÿ         America’s first Space Shuttle, orbiter Columbia, first lifted off from its pad at the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981 and glided to a successful landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Challenger, the second Space Shuttle, exploded on January 28, 1986. Presently there are four NASA Space Shuttles: Columbia, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.