On October 30, 1968, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), having come to the conclusion that a reusable space system can significantly reduce costs (in the case of regular use), came out with a proposal to American companies involved in the design of space technology. The essence of the proposal was to study the possibilities of creating a complex capable of regularly flying into space and safely delivering a certain amount of payload to the ground (in addition to the crew).
Already in September 1970, a specially created Space Task Force, led by S. Agnew (US Vice President), developed two preliminary projects involving the use of a new "ship".
The full version included:
orbital tugs;
space shuttles;
a small orbital station in the orbit of the Moon;
a large orbital station in Earth orbit (up to 50 crew members);
creation of a habitable base on the Moon;
manned expeditions to Mars;
landing humans on the surface of Mars.
As an alternative, only the creation of a large orbital station in earth orbit was envisaged. In both the first and second cases, all work on supplying the station, delivering goods into orbit and changing crews, as well as all other tasks in orbit, was supposed to be carried out using a reusable system called the Space Shuttle. The whole program was in danger of complete oblivion due to the huge cost of even the cheapest project (5 billion dollars a year). President Richard Nixon vetoed all options without exception. NASA has made a difficult decision. The expediency of creating the Shuttle was justified as a very profitable system, capable of returning the sums invested in it in a short time. Instead of the initial use as a transport ship, he was assigned the role of a reusable launch vehicle that puts satellites into orbit (on a commercial basis).
The US Congress adopted a project to develop and create a reusable Space Shuttle system after an economic examination gave the following conclusion: with a complete rejection of the use of disposable carriers and a frequency of launches of at least 30 annually, the Space Shuttle system is (theoretically) recognized as cost-effective. The military also did not stand aside, putting forward a number of requirements for the future system. One of them was the well-defined dimensions of the cargo compartment (at least 18 meters long and 4.5 meters in diameter), as well as the possibility of launching about 30 tons of payload into orbit and returning about 14.5 tons to the ground. These calculations were made based on the size and weight of the latest (at that time) optical reconnaissance satellite KH-11 KENNAN, which was to be launched into the Shuttle's near-Earth orbit. In 1979, the first MTKK "Space Shuttle" was manufactured, which received the name "Columbia" (Columbia). Its components were as follows:
a spacecraft (rocketplane orbiter) which was launched into orbit;
an external fuel tank (diameter 8.38 m and length 47 m), which contained 756 tons of fuel (oxygen and hydrogen) for the operation of three main engines;
two solid rocket boosters (50 m high and 3.71 m in diameter) with a total weight of 1180 tons.
The launch of the Space Shuttle system was carried out as follows. Vertical launch on sustainer engines (at full power), with simultaneous operation of accelerators that create approximately 80% of the lift. Upon reaching a height of 45 km, after about 126 seconds, solid-fuel boosters are separated and parachuted into the ocean. The outer tank is dropped at an altitude of approximately 105 km. It, in most cases, burns up when it enters the atmosphere. After completing the flight, the Shuttle lands on the runway on its own like a normal glider. The crew of the orbiter consists of two people (commander and pilot), but is capable of taking on board up to eight astronauts. The estimated time in orbit is about two weeks.
Production NPP RUSMET offers services for plasma cutting of metal and production of metal structures.
In total, six ships of this class were manufactured as part of the Space Shuttle project:
Enterprise - built in the late 70s (used to practice landing methods). Columbia (1979) - made 28 flights into space.
Challenger (July 1982) - 10 flights.
Discovery (November 1982) - 39 flights.
Atlantis (1985) - 33 flights.
Endeavor (1991) - 25 flights.
The program was completed in 2011, for thirty years, 335 astronauts have been in space (there were no unmanned launches), 1.6 thousand tons of various cargoes have been lifted into orbit.
Photos of the future Shuttle, complete with drawings and descriptions, were received by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the USSR by the beginning of 1975. Two independent reviews very quickly came to the conclusion that the new system could be used for military purposes.
And the confrontation began - "Shuttle" against "Buran".
Serious reasons for concern were technical information obtained by intelligence: the launch of payloads into orbit in the United States never exceeded 150 tons / year, while nothing was descended back at all. The Space Shuttle system provided the ability to lift 12 times more cargo (and lower 820 tons / year!). Since there was no civilian department (like NASA) in the USSR, all rocket and space programs were carried out either through the Ministry of Defense or with the approval of the top party leadership. "Good" for the project was received in 1976. And already on November 10, 1985, the full-size analogue of Buran, BTS-002 (GLI), made its first flight as part of atmospheric horizontal flight tests. In the cockpit of the spacecraft were two test pilots R. A. A. Stankyavichus and I. P. Volk.
The first (and only) flight of the Energia-Buran reusable complex took place on November 15, 1988 in an unmanned mode. After a successful launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome, the spacecraft, having completed two complete orbits around the Earth, landed on its own at the Yubileiny airfield. The entire flight took 205 minutes. The matter never came to a “full-fledged” launch (with a crew), the Energia-Buran program was first suspended (1990), and then finally closed in 1993.
The only "Buran" that rose into space ingloriously ended its existence under the rubble of the roof of the assembly and test building in 2002. Together with it, ready-made copies of the Energia launch vehicle were destroyed. Despite the outward similarity of the Shuttle and Buran, the latter had a number of fundamental design differences. The Soviet complex had four side blocks with oxygen - kerosene four-chamber engines of the first stage (RD-170) and four oxygen - hydrogen engines (RD-0120) of the second stage, which put Buran into orbit.
By and large, the similarity between the "Shuttle" and "Buran" ends with the external outline of the spaceplanes. At the heart of the creation are completely different principles. If the Space Shuttle was designed exclusively as a system for launching a shuttle into orbit, and could not be used in any other way (it is a single block system), then the Energia rocket and space system was a universal development capable of delivering any large object into space. The undoubted advantage of the Energia launch vehicle can be considered the sequential launch of the first and second stages, while the Space Shuttle fires immediately and simultaneously. Delivery to the launch position was carried out in different ways - Buran was carried horizontally, and the Shuttle was carried vertically. And finally, the main difference. Soviet spaceplane could make unmanned flights, unlike its American counterpart.
Finally, our "Buran" was capable of unmanned flight. Under computer control, he even landed. For the Americans, this task was beyond the power, which is most surprising. It is difficult to recall a case when our technology turned out to be "smarter" than American. The creator of Buran, Y. Semenov, mentioned another difference: one ship flew, the other did not. But this difference was only a matter of time.
So, speaking about the confrontation between the Shuttle and the Buran, we can only talk about rivalry in the field of technology, since the long history of successful (and not too) launches of the American spaceplane is difficult to compare with the only flight (albeit listed in the Guinness Book of Records) its Soviet counterpart.
On July 21, 2011 at 09:57 UTC, the space shuttle Atlantis landed on runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Center. This was the 33rd flight of Atlantis and the 135th space expedition as part of the Space Shuttle project.
This flight was the last in the history of one of the most ambitious space programs. The project, on which the United States staked in space exploration, did not end at all as it was once seen by its developers.
The idea of reusable spacecraft appeared both in the USSR and in the USA at the dawn of the space age, in the 1960s. The United States moved to its practical implementation in 1971, when North American Rockwell received an order from NASA to develop and build an entire fleet of reusable spacecraft.
According to the idea of the authors of the program, reusable ships were to become an efficient and reliable means of delivering astronauts and cargo from Earth to near-Earth orbit. The devices were supposed to scurry along the route "Earth - Space - Earth", like shuttles, which is why the program was called the "Space Shuttle" - "Space Shuttle".
Initially, the "shuttles" were only part of a larger project, which involved the creation of a large orbital station for 50 people, a base on the Moon and a small orbital station in orbit of the Earth's satellite. Given the complexity of the idea, NASA was ready at the initial stage to limit itself to only a large orbital station.
When these plans were approved by the White House, US President Richard Nixon darkened in the eyes of the number of zeros in the proposed estimate of the project. The United States spent a huge amount to get ahead of the USSR in the manned "moon race", but it was impossible to continue funding space programs in truly astronomical amounts.
First launch on Cosmonautics Day
After Nixon rejected these projects, NASA went for a trick. Hiding away plans for a large orbital station, the president was presented with a project to create a reusable spacecraft as a system capable of making a profit and recouping investments by launching satellites into orbit on a commercial basis.
The new project was sent for examination to economists, who concluded that the program would pay off if at least 30 launches of reusable ships per year were carried out, and launches of disposable ships would be stopped altogether.
NASA was convinced that these parameters were quite achievable, and the Space Shuttle project received the approval of the President and the US Congress.
Indeed, in the name of the Space Shuttle project, the United States abandoned disposable spacecraft. Moreover, by the beginning of the 1980s, a decision was made to transfer to the "shuttles" the launch program for military and reconnaissance vehicles. The developers assured that their perfect miracle devices would open a new page in space exploration, force them to abandon huge costs and even make it possible to make a profit.
The very first reusable ship, dubbed the Enterprise by numerous requests from Star Trek fans, never went into space, it served only to practice landing techniques.
The construction of the first full-fledged reusable spacecraft began in 1975 and was completed in 1979. It was named "Columbia" - after the name of the sailing ship on which Captain Robert Gray in May 1792 explored the inland waters of British Columbia.
April 12, 1981 "Columbia" with a crew of John Young and Robert Crippen successfully launched from the spaceport at Cape Canaveral. The launch was not planned to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the launch Yuri Gagarin but fate decreed it that way. The launch, originally planned for March 17, was postponed several times due to various problems and was eventually carried out on April 12.
Columbia launch. Photo: wikipedia.org
takeoff crash
The fleet of reusable ships was replenished in 1982 with the Challenger and Discovery, and in 1985 with the Atlantis.
The Space Shuttle project has become the pride and calling card of the United States. Only specialists knew about its reverse side. The shuttles, for the sake of which the US manned program was interrupted for a whole six years, were far from being as reliable as the creators assumed. Almost every launch was accompanied by troubleshooting before launch and during the flight. In addition, it turned out that the costs of operating the "shuttles" in reality are several times higher than those provided for by the project.
At NASA, critics were reassured - yes, there are flaws, but they are insignificant. The resource of each of the ships is designed for 100 flights, by 1990 there will be 24 launches per year, and the "shuttles" will not devour money, but make a profit.
On January 28, 1986, the launch of Expedition 25 under the Space Shuttle program was to take place from Cape Canaveral. The Challenger spacecraft was sent into space, for which it was the 10th mission. In addition to professional astronauts, the crew included teacher Christa McAuliffe, the winner of the "Teacher in Space" competition, who was supposed to teach several lessons from orbit for American schoolchildren.
The attention of all America was riveted to this launch, Krista's relatives and friends were present at the cosmodrome.
But at the 73rd second of the flight, in front of those present at the cosmodrome and millions of viewers, the Challenger exploded. Seven astronauts on board died.
The death of the Challenger. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
"Avos" in American
Never before in the history of cosmonautics has a catastrophe claimed so many lives at once. The US manned flight program was interrupted for 32 months.
The investigation showed that the cause of the disaster was damage to the sealing ring of the right solid-propellant booster during launch. Damage to the ring caused a hole in the side of the accelerator to burn through, from which a jet stream beat towards the external fuel tank.
In the course of clarifying all the circumstances, very unsightly details about the internal "kitchen" of NASA were revealed. In particular, NASA leaders have known about defects in sealing rings since 1977 - that is, since the construction of Columbia. However, they gave up on the potential threat, relying on the American “maybe”. In the end, it all ended in a terrible tragedy.
After the death of the Challenger, measures were taken and conclusions were drawn. The refinement of the "shuttles" did not stop all subsequent years, and by the end of the project they were already, in fact, completely different ships.
To replace the lost Challenger, the Endeavor was built, which was put into operation in 1991.
Shuttle Endeavor. Photo: Public Domain
From Hubble to the ISS
You can not talk only about the shortcomings of the "shuttles". Thanks to them, for the first time, work was carried out in space that had not been carried out before, for example, the repair of failed spacecraft and even their return from orbit.
It was the Discovery shuttle that delivered the now-famous Hubble telescope into orbit. Thanks to the "shuttles", the telescope was repaired four times in orbit, which made it possible to extend its operation.
On the "shuttles" crews of up to 8 people were taken into orbit, while the disposable Soviet "Unions" could lift into space and return to Earth no more than 3 people.
In the 1990s, after the project of the Soviet reusable Buran spacecraft was closed, American shuttles began to fly to the Mir orbital station. These ships also played an important role in the construction of the International Space Station, delivering modules into orbit that did not have their own propulsion system. The shuttles also delivered crews, food and scientific equipment to the ISS.
Expensive and deadly
But, despite all the advantages, over the years it became obvious that the "shuttles" would never get rid of the shortcomings of their "shuttles". Literally in every flight, the astronauts had to deal with repairs, eliminating problems of varying severity.
There was no talk of any 25-30 flights a year by the mid-1990s. The record year for the program was 1985 with nine flights. In 1992 and 1997, 8 flights were made. NASA has long preferred to remain silent about the payback and profitability of the project.
On February 1, 2003, the Columbia spacecraft completed its 28th mission in its history. This mission was carried out without docking with the ISS. The 16-day flight involved a crew of seven, including the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. During the return of "Columbia" from orbit, communication with her was lost. Soon, video cameras recorded in the sky the fragments of the ship rapidly rushing towards the Earth. All seven astronauts on board died.
During the investigation, it was found that at the start of the Columbia, a piece of the thermal insulation of the oxygen tank hit the left wing plane of the Shuttle. During the descent from orbit, this led to the penetration of gases with a temperature of several thousand degrees into the ship's structures. This led to the destruction of the wing structures and the further death of the ship.
Thus, two shuttle crashes claimed the lives of 14 astronauts. Faith in the project was finally undermined.
The last crew of the space shuttle Columbia. Photo: Public Domain
Exhibits for the museum
Shuttle flights were interrupted for two and a half years, and after their resumption, it was decided in principle that the program would be finally completed in the coming years.
It wasn't just about human casualties. The Space Shuttle project never reached the parameters that were originally planned.
By 2005, the cost of one shuttle flight was $450 million, but with additional costs, this amount reached $1.3 billion.
By 2006, the total cost of the Space Shuttle project was $160 billion.
It is unlikely that anyone in the United States could believe it in 1981, but the Soviet disposable Soyuz spacecraft, the modest workhorses of the domestic manned space program, won the competition in price and reliability from the shuttles.
On July 21, 2011, the shuttles' space odyssey finally ended. For 30 years, they made 135 flights, making a total of 21,152 orbits around the Earth and flying 872.7 million kilometers, lifting 355 cosmonauts and astronauts and 1.6 thousand tons of payloads into orbit.
All "shuttles" took their place in museums. The Enterprise is exhibited at the Naval and Aerospace Museum in New York, the Smithsonian Institution Museum in Washington is home to the Discovery, the Endeavor found shelter at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, and the Atlantis stood up forever at the Space Center named after Kennedy in Florida.
The ship "Atlantis" in the center of them. Kennedy. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
After the cessation of shuttle flights, the United States for four years now has not been able to deliver astronauts into orbit otherwise than with the help of Soyuz.
American politicians, considering this state of affairs unacceptable for the United States, are calling for speeding up work on the creation of a new ship.
Hopefully, despite the rush, the lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program will be learned and a repeat of the Challenger and Columbia tragedies will be avoided.
Details Category: Encounter with space Posted on 10/12/2012 10:54 Views: 7341Only three countries have manned spacecraft: Russia, the USA and China.
First generation spacecraft
"Mercury"
This was the name of the first US manned space program and a series of spacecraft used in this program (1959-1963). The general designer of the ship is Max Faget. For flights under the Mercury program, the first detachment of NASA astronauts was created. A total of 6 manned flights were performed under this program.
This is a single-seat manned orbital spacecraft, made according to the capsule scheme. The cabin is made of titanium-nickel alloy. Cabin volume - 1.7m 3 . The astronaut is located in the lodgement and is in the spacesuit all the time of the flight. The cockpit is equipped with information on the dashboard and controls. The ship's attitude control stick is located at the pilot's right hand. Visual review is provided by a porthole on the cockpit access hatch and a panoramic wide-angle periscope with variable magnification.
The ship is not designed for maneuver with changing orbital parameters, it is equipped with a jet control system for turning along three axes and a braking propulsion system. Orbital attitude control - automatic and manual. Entry into the atmosphere is carried out along a ballistic trajectory. The braking parachute is deployed at an altitude of 7 km, the main one - at an altitude of 3 km. Water splashing occurs with a vertical speed of about 9 m/s. After landing, the capsule maintains a vertical position.
A feature of the ship "Mercury" is the widespread use of backup manual control. The Mercury ship was launched into orbit by Redstone and Atlas rockets with a very small carrying capacity. Because of this, the mass and dimensions of the cabin of the manned capsule "Mercury" were extremely limited and significantly inferior in terms of technical perfection to the Soviet ships "Vostok.
The objectives of the flights of the spacecraft "Mercury" were different: working out the emergency rescue system, testing the ablative heat shield, its shooting, telemetry and communication along the entire flight path, suborbital human flight, human orbital flight.
As part of the Mercury program, the chimpanzees Ham and Enos flew to the United States.
"Gemini"
The spacecraft of the Gemini series (1964-1966) continued the Mercury series of spacecraft, but surpassed them in terms of capabilities (2 crew members, longer autonomous flight time, the ability to change orbit parameters, etc.). In the course of the program, rendezvous and docking methods were worked out; for the first time in history, docking of spacecraft was carried out. Several spacewalks were made, records of the duration of the flight were set. A total of 12 flights were made under this program.
The Gemini spacecraft consists of two main parts - the descent vehicle, in which the crew is located, and an unpressurized instrument-assembly compartment, where the engines and other equipment are located. The shape of the descent vehicle is similar to the ships of the Mercury series. Despite some external similarities between the two ships, the Gemini is significantly superior to the Mercury in terms of capabilities. The length of the ship is 5.8 meters, the maximum outer diameter is 3 meters, and the mass is an average of 3810 kilograms. The ship was launched into orbit by a Titan II launch vehicle. At the time of the appearance of "Gemini" was the largest spacecraft.
The first launch of the ship took place on April 8, 1964, and the first manned launch on March 23, 1965.
Second generation spacecraft
"Apollo"
"Apollo"- a series of American 3-seat spacecraft that were used in the Apollo missions to the Moon, the Skylab orbital station and the Soviet-American ASTP docking. A total of 21 flights were made under this program. The main purpose is the delivery of astronauts to the moon, but the spacecraft of this series also performed other tasks. 12 astronauts have landed on the moon. The first landing on the moon was carried out on Apollo 11 (N. Armstrong and B. Aldrin in 1969)
Apollo is the only spacecraft in history so far to have carried humans out of low Earth orbit and overcoming Earth's gravity, and the only one to successfully land astronauts on the Moon and return to Earth.
The Apollo spacecraft consists of a command and service compartment, a lunar module, and an emergency rescue system.
Command module is the flight control center. All crew members during the flight are in the command compartment, with the exception of the landing on the moon. It has the shape of a cone with a spherical base.
The command compartment has a pressurized cabin with a crew life support system, a control and navigation system, a radio communication system, an emergency rescue system and a heat shield. In the front non-pressurized part of the command compartment there is a docking mechanism and a parachute landing system, in the middle part there are 3 astronaut seats, a flight control panel and a life support system and radio equipment; in the space between the rear screen and the pressurized cabin, the equipment of the reactive control system (RCS) is located.
The docking mechanism and internally threaded part of the lunar module jointly provide a rigid docking of the command compartment with the lunar ship and form a tunnel for the crew to move from the command compartment to the lunar module and back.
The crew life support system maintains the temperature in the ship's cabin within the range of 21-27 °C, humidity from 40 to 70% and pressure of 0.35 kg/cm². The system is designed for a 4-day increase in flight duration beyond the estimated time required for an expedition to the Moon. Therefore, the possibility of adjustment and repair by the crew dressed in spacesuits is provided.
service compartment carries the main propulsion system and support systems for the Apollo spacecraft.
Emergency rescue system. If an emergency situation arises during the launch of the Apollo launch vehicle or it is necessary to stop the flight in the process of launching the Apollo spacecraft into Earth orbit, the crew is rescued by separating the command compartment from the launch vehicle and then landing it on Earth by parachutes.
Lunar module It has two stages: landing and takeoff. The landing stage, equipped with an independent propulsion system and landing gear, is used to lower the lunar spacecraft from the Moon's orbit and soft landing on the lunar surface, and also serves as a launch pad for the takeoff stage. The takeoff stage with a pressurized cabin for the crew and an independent propulsion system, after completion of research, starts from the surface of the Moon and docks with the command compartment in orbit. The separation of steps is carried out using pyrotechnic devices.
"Shenzhou"
China Manned Space Flight Program. Work on the program began in 1992. The first manned flight of the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft made China in 2003 the third country in the world to independently send a man into space. The Shenzhou spacecraft in many respects repeats the Russian Soyuz spacecraft: it has exactly the same layout of modules as the Soyuz - an instrument-aggregate compartment, a descent vehicle and a utility compartment; approximately the same dimensions as the Soyuz. The entire structure of the ship and all its systems are roughly identical to the Soviet spacecraft of the Soyuz series, and the orbital module is built using technologies used in the Salyut series of Soviet space stations.
The Shenzhou program included three stages:
- launching unmanned and manned spacecraft into near-Earth orbit while ensuring the guaranteed return of descent vehicles to Earth;
- tykunavtov spacewalk, the creation of an autonomous space station for a short stay of expeditions;
- creation of large space stations for long-term stay of expeditions.
The mission is being successfully carried out (4 manned flights have been completed) and is currently open.
Reusable transport spacecraft
The Space Shuttle, or simply shuttle ("space shuttle"), is an American reusable transport spacecraft. The shuttles were used within the framework of the state program "Space transport system". It was understood that the shuttles would "scurry like shuttles" between low Earth orbit and the Earth, delivering payloads in both directions. The program ran from 1981 to 2011. A total of five shuttles were built: "Colombia"(burnt down during landing in 2003), "Challenger"(exploded during launch in 1986), "Discovery", "Atlantis" And "Endeavour". In 1975 a prototype ship was built "Enterprise", but it has never been launched into space.
The shuttle was launched into space using two solid-propellant rocket boosters and three of its own propulsion engines, which received fuel from a huge external tank. In orbit, the shuttle carried out maneuvers due to the engines of the orbital maneuvering system and returned to Earth as a glider. During the development, it was envisaged that each of the shuttles had to launch into space up to 100 times. In practice, they were used much less, by the end of the program in July 2011, the most flights were made by the Discovery shuttle - 39.
"Colombia"
"Colombia"- the first copy of the Space Shuttle system, flying into space. The previously built Enterprise prototype flew, but only within the atmosphere to practice landing. The construction of Columbia began in 1975, and on March 25, 1979, Columbia was commissioned by NASA. The first manned flight of the Columbia STS-1 reusable transport spacecraft took place on April 12, 1981. The crew commander was a veteran of the American astronautics John Young, the pilot was Robert Crippen. The flight was (and remains) unique: the very first, in fact, test launch of a spacecraft was carried out with the crew on board.
Columbia was heavier than the shuttles built later, so it did not have a docking module. Columbia could not dock with either the Mir station or the ISS.
Columbia's last flight, STS-107, took place from January 16 to February 1, 2003. On the morning of February 1, the ship broke up while entering the dense layers of the atmosphere. All seven crew members were killed. The commission to investigate the causes of the disaster concluded that the cause was the destruction of the outer heat-shielding layer on the left plane of the shuttle wing. At the launch on January 16, this section of thermal protection was damaged by a piece of thermal insulation from the oxygen tank falling on it.
"Challenger"
"Challenger"- reusable transport spacecraft NASA. Initially, it was intended only for test purposes, but then it was converted and prepared for launches into space. The Challenger launched for the first time on April 4, 1983. In total, it completed 9 successful flights. Crashed on tenth launch on 28 January 1986, all 7 crew members died. The last launch of the shuttle was scheduled for the morning of January 28, 1986, millions of spectators around the world watched the launch of the Challenger. At the 73rd second of the flight, at an altitude of 14 km, the left solid-propellant booster detached from one of the two mounts. Turning around the second, the booster pierced the main fuel tank. Due to the violation of the symmetry of thrust and air resistance, the ship deviated from the axis and was destroyed by aerodynamic forces.
"Discovery"
NASA reusable transport spacecraft, the third shuttle. The first flight was made on August 30, 1984. The Discovery Shuttle delivered the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit and participated in two expeditions to service it.
Discovery launched the Ulysses probe and three relay satellites.
A Russian cosmonaut also flew on the Discovery shuttle Sergey Krikalev February 3, 1994 During eight days, the crew of the Discovery spacecraft performed many different scientific experiments in the field of materials science, biological experiments and observations of the Earth's surface. Krikalev performed a significant part of the work with a remote manipulator. After completing 130 orbits and flying 5,486,215 kilometers, on February 11, 1994, the shuttle landed at the Kennedy Space Center (Florida). Thus, Krikalev became the first Russian cosmonaut to fly on an American shuttle. In total, from 1994 to 2002, 18 orbital flights of the Space Shuttle were performed, the crews of which included 18 Russian cosmonauts.
On the shuttle Discovery (STS-95) on October 29, 1998, astronaut John Glenn, who at that time was 77 years old, set off on his second flight.
Space Shuttle Discovery ended its 27-year career with its last landing on March 9, 2011. It deorbited, glided to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and landed safely. The shuttle was donated to the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
"Atlantis"
"Atlantis"- NASA's reusable transport spacecraft, the fourth space shuttle. During the construction of the Atlantis, many improvements were made over its predecessors. It is 3.2 tons lighter than the Columbia shuttle and took half the time to build.
The first flight of Atlantis was made in October 1985, it was one of five flights for the US Department of Defense. Since 1995, Atlantis has made seven flights to the Russian space station Mir. An additional docking module for the Mir station was delivered and the crew change of the Mir station was carried out.
From November 1997 to July 1999, Atlantis was modified, about 165 improvements were made to it. From October 1985 to July 2011, the shuttle Atlantis made 33 space flights, its crew included 189 people. The last 33rd launch was carried out on July 8, 2011.
"Endeavour"
"Endeavour" is NASA's reusable transport spacecraft, the fifth and final space shuttle. Endeavor made its first flight on May 7, 1992. In 1993, the first expedition to service the Hubble Space Telescope was made on Endeavor. In December 1998, Endeavor delivered the first American Unity module for the ISS into orbit.
From May 1992 to June 2011, the Endeavor shuttle made 25 space flights. June 1, 2011 The shuttle landed for the last time at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The Space Transportation System program was completed in 2011. All active shuttles were decommissioned after their last flight and sent to museums.
For 30 years of operation, five shuttles made 135 flights. On shuttles, 1.6 thousand tons of payloads were lifted into space. 355 astronauts and cosmonauts flew on shuttles into space.
From its first launch 30 years ago to its last flight, NASA's spacecraft has seen moments of ups and downs. This program has made up to 135 flights, delivered more than 350 people and thousands of tons of materials and equipment into low Earth orbit. The flights were risky, sometimes extremely dangerous. Indeed, over the years, 14 shuttle astronauts have died.
During a visit to watch the Apollo launch, April 16 to 15, 1972, Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko (left) listens as Kennedy Space Center director Dr. Kurt H. explains the space shuttle programs 
Layout of the proposed Space Shuttle wing configuration. The photo was taken on March 28, 1975. 
This is a November 6, 1975 picture: a mock-up spacecraft attached to a 747 carrier, in a wind tunnel. 
Part of the cast of the television series Star Trek attended the first screening of America's first spaceship, in Palmdale, California on September 17, 1976. On the left are Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Forest Kelly and James Doohan. 
An inside view of a hydrogen tank destined for the Space Shuttle on February 1, 1977. At 154 meters long and over 27 feet in diameter, the outer tank is the largest component of the spacecraft, the structural backbone of the entire Shuttle system. 
A technician works with sensors installed in the back of a mock spacecraft on February 15, 1977. 
At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this mock spacecraft, dubbed the Pathfinder, is being attached to a test fit device on October 19, 1978. A mock-up built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, had the overall dimensions, weight, and balance of a real space shuttle. 
NASA's Space Shuttle Carrier prototype 747 flies after taking off from the dry bed of Lake Rogers for the second of five free flights at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, since January 1, 1977. 
Space Shuttle Columbia arrives at Launch Complex 39A in preparation for the STS-1 mission at the Kennedy Space Center on December 29, 1980. 
Astronauts John Young (left) and Robert Crippen look at spacecraft instruments in NASA's Orbiter 102 Columbia as they prepare the spacecraft for testing, which will take place during the orbiter's test flight, at Kennedy Space Center October 10, 1980 
Flight Director Charles R. Lewis (left) examines a display graph on the Flight Control Area Monitor (MOCR) at Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in April 1981. 
Two solid-propellant rocket boosters are dropped from the Columbia shuttle as a successful launch. This has been the case for spaceflight since 1975. April 12, 1981 
The shuttle Columbia on the dry bed of Rogers Lake at Edwards AFB completed its first orbital mission on April 14, 1981 after landing. 
A Columbia shuttle atop a NASA Boeing 747 at Edwards Air Force Base, California on November 25, 1981 
Night launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia, during the twenty-fourth mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program, January 12, 1986 
Astronaut Sally Ride, STS-7 specialist, monitors the control panels in the pilot's seat in the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Challenger on June 25, 1983. 
The Space Shuttle Enterprise is transported over a slope that has been widened to avoid hitting its wings, to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on February 1, 1985. The orbiter is being transported to the space launch complex, with six specially designed 76-wheeled transporters on board. 
A general view of the spacecraft in launch position at Space Rocket Complex (SLC) No. 6, ready for a test launch to test launch procedures at Vandenberg Air Force Base, on February 1, 1985 
The Space Shuttle Discovery, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, after completing its 26th space mission. 
Christa McAuliffe tries out the Shuttle Simulator Flight Deck Command Seat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on September 13, 1985. McAuliffe was scheduled to make a space flight on the Space Shuttle Challenger in January 1986, which ended in tragedy. 
Ice on Launch Pad 39-B, January 27, 1986 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, causing the ill-fated launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger 
Spectators in the VIP area at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, watch as the Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off pad 39-B on January 28, 1986, on its tragic final flight. 
The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch from Kennedy Space Center. The hull with a crew of seven, including the first teacher in space, was destroyed, all on board died 
Spectators at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida after they witnessed the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986 
Space Shuttle Columbia (left), slated for takeoff STS-35, passes the Atlantis spacecraft on its way to Pad 39A. Atlantis, scheduled for mission STS-38, parked in front of the bay to repair liquid hydrogen lines 
A Florida Air National Guard F-15C Eagle performs a patrol mission for the Space Shuttle Endeavor launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on December 5, 2001. 
The nose of the space shuttle Atlantis, seen from the Russian space station Mir in the STS-71 mission, June 29, 1995. 
Cosmonaut Valery Vladimirovich Polyakov, who was at the station on January 8, 1994, goes out to open the spacecraft 
Specialist Bruce McCandless II flew farther from the Space Shuttle Challenger than any previous astronaut February 12, 1984 photos 
Shuttle main engine test at the Marshall Space Flight Center test facility, in Huntsville, Alabama, December 22, 1993 
Astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, STS-82 Mission Specialist, spacewalks to conduct experiments on photographic film February 16, 1997 
The two components of the International Space Station joined together on December 6, 1998. The Russian FGB, also called Zarya, is approaching the Shuttle Endeavor 
During the first Iraq War, in April 1991, black smoke from burning oil wells in the Kuwait desert was seen from the orbit of the space shuttle Atlantis during the STS-37 mission. The Iraqi army set fire to oil wells in Kuwait when it left that country. 
Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-134) makes its final landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 1, 2011. 
Puffs of smoke and steam interspersed with fiery light during the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavor at NASA Kennedy Space Center at 39A in July 2009. 
The external fuel tank of Shuttle ET-118, which departed in September 2006, was photographed by astronauts aboard the shuttle about 21 minutes after takeoff. 
A training model of the Shuttle is parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, where they will be pulled by ships, returned to earth, and refitted for reuse. 
Although astronauts and cosmonauts often encounter startling scenes, this is a unique image that has the added bonus of being set against the backdrop of the Endeavor Space Shuttle silhouette. 
NASA's Columbia shuttle Boeing 747 flies from Palmdale, California to Kennedy Space Center, Florida on March 1, 2001. 
The high temperatures faced by the Space Shuttle were simulated in the tunnels at Langley in a 1975 test of thermal insulation materials to be used on the shuttles. 
Fire and rescue personnel prepare to evacuate as two "cosmonauts" prepare to leave in a rescue training exercise in Palmdale, California on April 16, 2005. 
The Space Shuttle Challenger moves through fog on crawler tractors on its way to Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A on November 30, 1982. 
The shuttle Discovery will launch from Cape Canaveral on October 29. On the beach, children watch him. 
The Hubble Space Telescope begins its separation from the shuttle Discovery on February 19, 1997. 
This photo taken from Earth with a solar-filtered telescope shows NASA's shuttle Atlantis silhouetted against the Sun Tuesday, May 12, 2009, from Florida 
The silhouette of the Space Shuttle Columbia Commander, Kenneth Cockrall, is seen from the aircraft's front windows on December 7, 1996. 
Space Shuttle Discovery lands in the Mojave Desert on September 11, 2009 at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base near Mojave, California 
Space Shuttle Endeavor rests aboard an aircraft at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Foundation, Edwards, California, shortly before being ferried back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida 
Space Shuttle Discovery streaks brightly across the morning darkness as it lifts off Launch Pad 39A on its 10-day Hubble Space Telescope maintenance flight. 
At the end of the flight, the Space Shuttle Discovery managed to document the beginning of the second day of activity of the Rabaul volcano, on the eastern tip of New Britain. On the morning of September 19, 1994, two volcanic cones on opposite sides of the 6 km crater began to erupt into the sea 
Space Shuttle Atlantis above Earth, close to docking in orbit with the International Space Station in 2007 
After a catastrophic landing failure, debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia is visible in the sky on the morning of February 1, 2003. The orbiter and all seven crew members are killed. 
The wreckage of Columbia is laid out on the grid to determine the causes of the disaster. March 13, 2003 
Preparations for the Space Shuttle Discovery slowly assemble due to lightning at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A in Florida, on August 4, 2009. 
astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, Jr. (left) and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang, as STS-116 mission specialists, participate in the first of three planned spacewalks to build the International Space Station on December 12, 2006 . Against the backdrop of New Zealand. 
Xenon lights assist the landing of Space Shuttle Endeavor. NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 
The docking of the space shuttle Endeavor, against the background of a night view of the Earth and the starry sky, is photographed by the expedition at the International Space Station on May 28, 2011 
At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the STS-133 crew rests from a simulation launch countdown at the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39A 
A condensation wave, backlit by the sun, occurred during the launch of Atlantis on STS-106 on September 8, 2001. 
The International Space Station and the docked shuttle Endeavor flying at an altitude of about 220 kilometers. It's May 23, 2011 
