When NASA first started the space shuttle program, they had dreams of making an
aircraft that could travel into space, and return to earth to be used again.  They wanted an orbiter that could maneuver like a conventional spacecraft using small rocket motors.  At the end of the mission it would reenter the Earth's atmosphere and land at it's ground base on a runway like an airplane.  The space shuttle has many plane-like features, such as the wings- which it owes credit to the Wright Brothers.  The idea of rockets has been around forever. The Chinese used them in simple war weapons.  Our very own National Anthem, composed in 1812, makes the mention of “rocket's red glare.” NASA simply took this idea and made a giant rocket to lift the shuttle off the ground.
     The U.S. Space Shuttle is a winged space plane designed to transport humans into space and back. The shuttle is 184 feet long and looks like an airplane.  It contains engines, rocket boosters, and living and work quarters for up to eight crew members.  The shuttle also has a cargo bay large enough to hold a bus.  The shuttle is launched vertically using it's own engines, with two extra rocket boosters attached to the side.  The rockets fall off the shuttle and parachute into the ocean about two minutes after the launch.  Once in orbit the shuttle uses it's own rockets to change direction.  On its trip back home, the shuttle uses its rockets to brake.  Its delta shaped wings facilitate its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, and it glides in for a landing on a specially designed , 3 mile long runway.  NASA has built five shuttles: The Enterprise, Columbia, Atlantis, Discovery, and Challenger.
     The Enterprise, named in honor of the ship on the television series “Star Trek”,
was the first space shuttle built.  It was made for testing purposes only.  The  seventy ton Enterprise was not intended to go into orbit, but did prove itself capable of lift off and
gliding down to safety.  In order to test the shuttle's gliding abilities, the shuttle was
“piggybacked” on the back of a 747, and dropped from 20,000 feet.  In order to separate
the plane from the shuttle,  the carrier plane would shoot up bolts for vertical separation.
In order to gain horizontal separation, the shuttle and the carrier plane would both turn in opposite directions.
     In 1981 the Columbia became the first space shuttle to orbit the earth.  This was the first shuttle designed to ferry astronauts and equipment into space and back. Along with the mission to orbit the earth, the Columbia has completed many more important missions.  In 1983, it carried the first European-built space lab on a ten day research mission.  In 1986, it carried the first Hispanic astronaut, Franklin Chang-Diaz, and the first U.S. Congressman in space, Bill Nelson.  It has also delivered and repaired a number of civilian and military satellites. The Columbia has also carried the oldest astronaut, Story Musgrave. After such success with the Columbia, NASA decided to build three more shuttles.  These shuttles were named:  Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis.
     In 1982, Challenger became the second member of NASA's fleet of space shuttle orbiters. On its first flight, Challenger carried a tracking and data relay satellite. It also carried the first female astronaut , Sally Ride, into space on its second mission.  On its third flight, it carried Guion Bluford, the first African American astronaut in space.  The Challenger placed into orbit the European Space Lab, as well as a number of military and scientific satellites.  Challenger's tenth flight was on January 28, 1986.  This flight would have been the twenty-fifth of the four shuttle fleet (made up of Challenger, Atlantis, Columbia, and Discovery). The first twenty-four had returned safely.  The launch had been delayed four times before that cold morning at Cape Canaveral. There were icicles on the launch tower, but the flight officials decided that the weather conditions were no threat to the launch.  Seventy-three seconds after lift-off Challenger exploded, killing all seven people on board.  NASA officials discovered that the accident had been caused by a leak in one of the rocket boosters that ignited the main fuel tank..the result of a faulty rubberized seal called an “O-ring.”  The Space Shuttle program was suspended for 2 years and eight months.  The space shuttle Endeavor, was built to replace Challenger.
     Another member of the space shuttle fleet is Discovery.  Discovery was named after an eighteenth-century ship, captained by the British explorer, James Cook.  James Cook was the first non-native  to set foot on the Hawaiian Islands. Discovery was the third shuttle orbiter constructed.  It has flown more than any other shuttle in the fleet. Discovery carried the second woman and first Jew in space, Judith Resnik.  Most people remember her as being one of the seven astronauts in the Challenger accident. Discovery also carried Ellision Onizuka, the first Asian-American in space.  Ellison was also one of the victims of the Challenger Disaster. Discovery's most known mission is the deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope. The Discovery is currently being updated.  It will soon be ready to carry some of the components of the international space station, a project scheduled for the beginning of the next century.
     In 1985, Atlantis became the fourth member of NASA's group of Space Shuttles.  Atlantis was named for the first U.S. ocean vessel that was used for research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966. This shuttle weighs 85.5 tons.  Atlantis’ first flight was a U.S. Air force classified mission that carried two defense communication satellites. It also delivered the Galileo and Magellan interplanetary probes in 1989. The delivery of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in 1991 was one of its more notable missions.  According to the The Handy Space Answer Book, Atlantis dropped off U.S. Astronaut Shannon Lucis at the Russian Space Station Mir for what turned out to be a record breaking six month stay, and later returned her safely to earth.
     Space shuttles cut the cost of sending cargo into space.  During the pre-shuttle years of space activities, sending cargo, or payload into orbit aboard an unmanned launch vehicle cost approximately six hundred to seven hundred dollars per pound. Now with the space shuttle, it reduced the amount by as much as five times, to an estimated one hundred dollars per pound.  This amount seems to be getting lower as space shuttles are becoming more efficient.
     Endeavor is the newest addition to the NASA space shuttle fleet. Endeavor was built in 1991. Endeavor was built to replace Challenger.  The orbiter was named after the research vessel also of the eighteenth- century British explorer James Cook.  Endeavor is 122 feet tall and is 78 feet wide.  It weighs about 78 tons.  This ship cost more than two billion dollars to build.  Included on board Endeavor is the latest technology.  In addition, Endeavor has a parachute tail that shortens the distance traveled on the runway.  Endeavor is the last orbiter that NASA plans to build. It has had missions that have rescued a damaged Intelsat Communications satellite. It has also carried the first African American Woman into space, Mae Jemison. Endeavor will also have a big part in the International Space Station Project coming up in the beginning of the next century.
     NASA has made lots of progress in the past few years.  When Neil A. Armstrong first set foot on the moon, in 1969, he said, “One small step for man... one giant leap for mankind”.  The next “giant leap” will be the International Space Station project coming up in the beginning of the next century. There are many more exciting missions to come.  The upcoming Columbia mission will be witnessed by eight students and four teachers, very well known Mr. Ealey (He made me put that),  from Edison. This mission, called the STS-90, is piloted by Scott Altman, a former Pekinite and Edison Panther alumnus!
 

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