The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the US and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Scien NASA had pursued spaceplane development since the 1960s, seeking to blend its dual aeronautics and spaceflight mandates. NASA viewed a spaceplane as part of a broader architectural program designed to provide routine and economical logistical support to a future space station in Earth orbit, which would, in turn, serve as a hub for lunar and Mars missions. An operational, reusable launch vehicle was expected to end reliance on expensive, expendable boosters like the Saturn V. In 1969, NASA designated the Johnson Space Center as the lead facility for the design, development, and manufacturing of the Space Shuttle orbiter, while the Marshall Space Flight Center led the development of the launch system. Insights gained from NASA's series of lifting body aircraft, culminating in the joint NASA–Air Force Martin Marietta X-24, directly informed the Space Shuttle's aerodynamic design. Official development began in 1972, with Rockwell International contracted to design the orbiter and engines, Martin Marietta producing the external fuel tank, and Morton Thiokol creating the solid rocket boosters. NASA eventually acquired six orbiters: Enterprise (for atmospheric testing), Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. The Space Shuttle program allowed NASA to significantly evolve its Astronaut Corps. While nearly all early astronauts were military test pilots, the Shuttle's diverse operational needs led NASA to recruit civilian scientific and technical experts. Notably, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard STS-7. The revised astronaut selection framework also allowed NASA to include exchange astronauts from US allies and international partners for the first time. The first orbital Space Shuttle flight occurred in 1981 when Columbia launched on the STS-1 mission, serving as a critical flight test for the new system. NASA initially intended for the Space Shuttle to fully replace expendable launch vehicles such as the Air Force's Atlas, Delta, and Titan, as well as the European Space Agency's Ariane rockets. The Shuttle's Spacelab payload module, developed by the ESA, drastically increased NASA's on-orbit scientific capabilities compared… NA…

The Space Shuttle, Space Tug, and Spacelab are described as the basic transport vehicles for space exploration and operations in the coming decade, and some future space vehicle developments are anticipated. Components of Shuttle (Orbiter, external hydrogen-oxygen propellant tanks, solid boosters), basic maneuvers, and missions are described briefly. Expendable and reusable variants of the Interim Upper Stage (Space Tug) and Spacelab missions are described briefly. A future Large Lift Vehicle recoverable booster and an expendable chemical-nuclear system for the turn of the century are sketched.

of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and the expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Space Shuttle was The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was the Space Transportation System (STS), taken from the 1969 plan led by U.S. vice president Spiro Agnew for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was t The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was the Space Transportation System (STS), taken from the 1969 plan led by U.S. vice president Spiro Agnew for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development. The first (STS-1) of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights (STS-5) beginning in 1982. Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. They launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), conducted science experiments in orbit, participated in the Shuttle-Mir program with Russia, and participated in the construction and servicing of the International Space Station (ISS). The Space Shuttle fleet's total mission time was 1,323 days. Space Shuttle components include the Orbiter Vehicle (OV) with three clustered Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines, a pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and the expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Space Shuttle was launched vertically, like a conventional rocket, with the two SRBs operating in parallel with the orbiter's three RS-25 main engines, which were fueled from the ET. The SRBs were jettisoned before the vehicle reached orbit, while the main engines continued to operate, and the ET was jettisoned after main engine cutoff and just before orbit insertion, which used the orbiter's two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines. At the conclusion of the mission, the orbiter fired its OMS to deorbit and reenter the atmosphere. The orbiter was protected during reentry by its thermal protection system tiles, and it glided as a spaceplane to a runway landing, usually to the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC, Florida, or to Rogers Dry Lake in Edwards Air Force Base, California. If the landing occurred at Edwards, the orbiter was flown back to…