Space Shuttle Program - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

7/30/2019 Space Shuttle Program - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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Space Shuttle Atlantis takes flight on the

STS-27 mission on December 2, 1988.

The S huttle took about 8.5 minutes to

accelerate to a speed of over 27,000 km/h

(17000 mph) and achieve orbit.

Space Shuttle program

Duration 1981 - 2011

Tasks Construction and supply of the ISS;deployment, retrieval, and repair of

satellites; access to LEO

Losses Challenger, at liftoff, 1986;

Columbia, at reentry, 2003

Flights 135

Organization NASA

Space Shuttle programFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Space shuttle program)

NASA's Space Shuttle Program, officially called Space

Transportation System (STS), was the United States

government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981

to 2011. The winged Space Shuttle orbiter was launched

vertically, usually carrying four to seven astronauts

(although two and eight have been carried) and up to

50,000 lb (22,700 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit

(LEO). When its mission was complete, the Shuttle could

independently move itself out of orbit using its Orbital

Maneuvering System (it oriented itself heads down and

tail first, firing its OMS engines, thus slowing it down) and

re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. During descent and

landing the orbiter acted as a re-entry vehicle and a glider,using its RCS system and flight control surfaces to

maintain altitude until it made an unpowered landing at

either Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force

Base.

The Shuttle is the only winged manned spacecraft to have

achieved orbit and land, and the only reusable space

vehicle that has ever made multiple flights into orbit (the

Russian shuttle Buran was very similar and had the same

capabilities but made only one unmanned spaceflightbefore it was cancelled). Its missions involved carrying

large payloads to various orbits (including segments to be

added to the International Space Station), providing crew

rotation for the International Space Station, and

performing service missions. The orbiteralso recovered

satellites and other payloads (e.g. from the ISS) from

orbit and returned them to Earth, though its use in this

capacity was rare. Each vehicle was designed with a

projected lifespan of 100 launches, or 10 years'

operational life.
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The program formally commenced in 1972, although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, and

was the sole focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. The

Shuttle was originally conceived of and presented to the public in 1972 as a 'Space Truck' which would, among

other things, be used to build a United States space station in low earth orbit in the early-1990s and then be

replaced by a new vehicle. When the concept of the U.S. space station evolved into that of the International

Space Station, which suffered from long delays and design changes before it could be completed, the service life

of the Space Shuttle was extended several times until 2011 when it was finally retired serving at least 15

ears longer than it was originally designed to do. In 2004, according to the President George W. Bush's Visionfor Space Exploration, use of the Space Shuttle was to be focused almost exclusively on completing assembly o

the ISS, which was far behind schedule at that point.

The first experimental orbiter "Enterprise", built only for initial atmospheric landing tests (ALT), was delivered

for those test flights in 1976, and the first launch to space took place on April 12, 1981, with Columbia flying

as STS-1, the first Shuttle orbital flight. The Space Shuttle program finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown

byAtlantis, in July 2011, retiring the final Shuttle in the fleet. The Space Shuttle program formally ended on

August 31, 2011.[1]

Retirement of the Shuttle - the most complex vehicle ever built - ended the era in which all of America's variedspace activities were performed by one craft -or even one organization. Functions performed by the Shuttle for

30 years will be done by not one but many different spacecraft currently flying or in advanced development.

Secret military missions are being flown by the US Air Force's "highly successful" unmanned mini-space plane,

the X-37B[citation needed]. By the end of 2012 cargo supply to the International Space Station will be flown by

privately owned commercial craft under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services by SpaceX's successfully

tested and partially reusable Dragon spacecraft, and Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft (also slated for testing

in 2012). Crew service to ISS will be flown exclusively by the Russian's Soyuz while NASA works on the

Commercial Crew Development program. For missions beyond low Earth orbit NASA is building the Space

Launch System and the Orion spacecraft.

Contents

1 Conception and development

2 Program history

3 Accomplishments

4 Budget

5 Accidents

6 Retirement7 Final Status

8 Successors

9 Assets and transition plan

10 Criticism

11 Other STS program vehicles

12 See also

13 References

14 Further reading

15 External links

Conception and development
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Early U.S. space shuttle

concepts

Main article: Space Shuttle design process

Before the Apollo XI moon landing in 1969, NASA began early studies of

space shuttle designs. In 1969 President Richard Nixon formed the Space

Task Group, chaired by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. This group evaluated

the shuttle studies to date, and recommended a national space strategy

including building a space shuttle.[2] The goal, as presented by NASA to

Congress, was to provide a much less-expensive means of access to spacethat would be used by NASA, the Department of Defense, and other

commercial and scientific users.[3]

During early shuttle development there was great debate about the optimal

shuttle design that best balanced capability, development cost and operating

cost. Ultimately the current design was chosen, using a reusable winged

orbiter, reusable solid rocket boosters, and an expendable external tank.[2]

The shuttle program was formally launched on January 5, 1972, when

President Nixon announced that NASA would proceed with the development of a reusable space shuttlesystem.[2] The stated goals of "transforming the space frontier...into familiar territory, easily accessible for human

endeavor"[4] was to be achieved by launching as many as 50 missions per year, with hopes of driving down per-

mission costs.[5]

The prime contractor for the program was North American Aviation (later Rockwell International, now Boeing),

the same company responsible for building the Apollo Command/Service Module. The contractor for the Space

Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters was Morton Thiokol (now part of Alliant Techsystems), for the external tank,

Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), and for the Space Shuttle main engines, Rocketdyne (now Pratt &

Whitney Rocketdyne, part of United Technologies).[2]

The first orbiter was originally planned to be named Constitution, but a massive write-in campaign from fans of

the Star Trektelevision series convinced the White House to change the name toEnterprise.[6] Amid great

fanfare, theEnterprise (designated OV-101) was rolled out on September 17, 1976, and later conducted a

successful series of glide-approach and landing tests that were the first real validation of the design.

Program history

See also: Space Shuttle

See also: List of space shuttle missions

All Space Shuttle missions were launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The weather criteria used for

launch included, but were not limited to: precipitation, temperatures, cloud cover, lightning forecast, wind, and

humidity.[7] The Shuttle was not launched under conditions where it could have been struck by lightning.

The first fully functional orbiter was Columbia (designated OV-102), built in Palmdale, California. It was

delivered to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on March 25, 1979, and was first launched on April 12, 1981

the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flightwith a crew of two.
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STS-1 at liftoff. The External Tank was

painted white for the first two Space

Shuttle launches. From STS-3 on, it was

left unpainted.

Space ShuttleEndeavourdocked

with the International Space Station

(ISS)

Challenger(OV-099) was delivered to KSC in July 1982,

Discovery (OV-103) in November 1983,Atlantis (OV-104) in

April 1985 andEndeavorin May, 1991. Challengerwas

originally built and used as a Structural Test Article (STA-099)

but was converted to a complete shuttle when this was found to

be less expensive than convertingEnterprise from its Approach

and Landing Test configuration.

On April 24, 1990 Discovery carried the Hubble Space

Telescope into space during STS-31.

In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters suffered

catastrophic accident, with the loss of all crew members, totaling

14 astronauts:

Challenger lost 73 seconds after liftoff, STS-51-L, January

28, 1986

Columbia lost approximately 16 minutes before its expected landing, STS-107, February 1, 2003

The longest Shuttle mission was STS-80 lasting 17 days, 15 hours.

The final flight of the Space Shuttle Program was STS-135 on July 8, 2011.

Accomplishments

Space Shuttle missions have included:

Spacelab missions[8] Including:

Science[8]

Astronomy[8]

Crystal growth[8]

Space physics[8]

Construction of the International Space Station (ISS)

Crew rotation and servicing of Mir and the International Space

Station (ISS)

Servicing missions, such as to repair the Hubble Space

Telescope (HST) and obiting satellites

Manned experiments in low Earth orbit (LEO)

Carried to Low Earth Orbit (LEO):

The Hubble Space Telescope(HST)

All components of the International Space Station (ISS)

Supplies in Spacehab modules or Multi-Purpose

Logistics Modules

Carried satellites with a booster, such as the Payload AssistModule (PAM-D) or the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), to the point where the booster sends the satellite to:

A higher Earth orbit; these have included:

Chandra X-ray Observatory
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Shuttle mission STS-61:

Astronauts install corrective

optics on Hubble Space

Telescope

A drag chute is deployed by

Endeavouras it completes a mission

of almost 17 days in space on

Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force

Base in southern California. Landing

occurred at 1:46 pm (EST), March

18, 1995.

Many TDRS satellites

Two DSCS-III (Defense Satellite Communications System) communications satellites in one

mission

A Defense Support Program satellite

An interplanetary mission; these have included:

Magellan probe

Galileo spacecraft

Ulysses probe

Budget

Early during development of the space shuttle, NASA had estimated that the

program would cost $7.45 billion ($43 billion in 2011 dollars, adjusting for

inflation) in development/non-recurring costs, and $9.3M ($54M in 2011

dollars) per flight.[9]

Early estimates for the cost to deliver payload to lowearth orbit were as low as $118 per pound ($260/kg) of payload

($635/pound in 2011 dollars), based on marginal or incremental

launch costs, and assuming a 65,000 pound (30 000 kg) payload

capacity and 50 launches per year.[10][11]

The actual total cost of the shuttle program through 2011, adjusted

for inflation, is $196 billion.[5] The exact breakdown into non-

recurring and recurring costs is not available, but, according to

NASA, the average cost to launch a Space Shuttle as of 2011 is

about $450 million per mission.[12]

NASA's budget for 2005 allocated 30%, or $5 billion, to space

shuttle operations;[13] this was decreased in 2006 to a request of

$4.3 billion.[14] Non-launch costs account for a significant part of the

program budget: for example, during fiscal years 2004 to 2006,

NASA spent around $13 billion on the space shuttle program,[15]

even though the fleet was grounded in the aftermath of the Columbia

disaster and there were a total of three launches during this period of

time. In fiscal year 2009, NASA budget allocated $2.98 billion for 5

launches to the program, including $490 million for "program integration", $1.03 billion for "flight and ground

operations", and $1.46 billion for "flight hardware" (which includes maintenance of orbiters, engines, and the

external tank between flights.)

Per-launch costs can be measured by dividing the total cost over the life of the program (including buildings,

facilities, training, salaries, etc.) by the number of launches. With 134 missions, and the total cost of US$192

billion (in 2010 dollars), this gives approximately $1.5 billion per launch over the life of the program.[16]

Accidents

In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters were destroyed, with loss of crew totalling 14 astronauts:

Challenger lost 73 seconds after liftoff, STS-51-L, January 28, 1986
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In 1986, Challenger

disintegrated 1 minute 13

seconds after liftoff.

Columbia lost approximately 16 minutes before its expected landing, STS-107, February 1, 2003

Close-up video footage ofChallengerduring its final launch on on January 28, 1986 clearly show it exploded

due to O-Ring failure on the right solid rocket booster (SRB), resulting in the

loss of all seven astronauts on board.Endeavour(OV-105) was built to

replace Challenger(using structural spare parts originally intended for the

other orbiters) and delivered in May 1991; it was first launched a year later.

The shuttle program operated accident-free for seventeen years after the

Challengerdisaster, until Columbia broke up on reentry, killing all seven

crew members, on February 1, 2003, and was not replaced. NASA

maintains warehoused extensive catalogs of recovered pieces from the two

destroyed orbiters.

After the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, the International Space

Station operated on a skeleton crew of two for more than two years and

was serviced primarily by Russian spacecraft. While the "Return to Flight"

mission STS-114 in 2005 was successful, a similar piece of foam from a different portion of the tank was shed.

Although the debris did not strike the orbiter, the program was grounded once again for this reason.

The second "Return to Flight" mission, STS-121 launched on July 4, 2006, at 2:37 pm (EDT). Two previous

launches were scrubbed because of lingering thunderstorms and high winds around the launch pad, and the

launch took place despite objections from its chief engineer and safety head. A five-inch (13 cm) crack in the

foam insulation of the external tank gave cause for concern; however, the Mission Management Team gave the

go for launch.[17] This mission increased the ISS crew to three.Discovery touched down successfully on July

17, 2006 at 9:14 am (EDT) on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center.

Following the success of STS-121, all subsequent missions have been completed without major foam problems,

and the construction of ISS nears completion (during the STS-118 mission in August 2007, the orbiter was

again struck by a foam fragment on liftoff, but this damage was minimal compared to the damage sustained by

Columbia).

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board, in its report, noted the reduced risk to the crew when a shuttle

flies to the International Space Station (ISS), as the station can be used as a safe haven for the crew awaiting

rescue in the event that damage to the shuttle orbiter on ascent makes it unsafe for re-entry. The board

recommended that for the remaining flights, the shuttle always orbit with the station. Prior to Return to Flight,

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe declared that all future flights of the shuttle would go to the ISS, precluding

the possibility of executing the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission which had been scheduled before

the Columbia accident, despite the fact that millions of dollars worth of upgrade equipment for Hubble were

ready and waiting in NASA warehouses. Many dissenters, including astronauts, asked NASA management to

reconsider allowing the mission, but initially the director stood firm. On October 31, 2006, NASA announced

approval of the launch of the space shuttle,Atlantis, the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble

Space Telescope, scheduled for August 28, 2008. However SM4/STS-125 eventually launched in May 2009.

Further information: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

Retirement

Main article: Space Shuttle retirement
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Atlantis begins the last mission of the

Space Shuttle program

The Dragon spacecraft, one of the

Space Shuttle's several successors, is

seen here on its way to deliver cargo

to the ISS

The Space Shuttle program was extended several times beyond its originally-envisioned 15 year life span

because of the delays in building the United States space station in low Earth orbit a project which eventually

evolved into the International Space Station. It was formally scheduled for mandatory retirement in 2010 in

accord with the directives President George W. Bush issued on

January 14, 2004 in his Vision for Space Exploration.[18]

A $2.5 billion spending provision allowing NASA to fly the space

shuttle beyond its then-scheduled retirement in 2010 passed theCongress in April 2009, although neither NASA nor the White House

requested the one-year extension.[19]

The final Space Shuttle launch was that ofAtlantis on July 8, 2011.

Final Status

Out of the five fully functional shuttle orbiters built, three remain.Enterprise, which was used for atmospheric

test flights but not for orbital flight, had many parts taken out for use on the other orbiters. It was later visually

restored and was on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center until April19, 2012.Enterprise was moved to New York City in April 2012 to be displayed at the Intrepid Sea, Air &

Space Museum, whose Space Shuttle Pavilion opened on July 19, 2012. Discovery replacedEnterprise at the

National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.Atlantis formed part of the Space Shuttle

Exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex and has been on display there since June 29, 2013

following refurbishment. [20]

On October 14, 2012,Endeavourcompleted an unprecedented 12 mi (19 km) drive on city streets from Los

Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center, where it will be on display beginning later in

2012. The transport from the airport took two days and required major street closures, the removal of over 400

city trees, and extensive work to raise power lines, level the street, and temporarily remove street signs, lamp

posts, and other obstacles. Hundreds of volunteers, and fire and police personnel, helped with the transport.

Large crowds of spectators waited on the streets to see the shuttle as it passed through the city.

Successors

According to the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration, the next

manned NASA program was to be Project Constellation with its

Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and the Orion Spacecraft;

however, the Constellation program was never fully funded, and inearly 2010 the Obama administration asked Congress to instead

endorse a plan with heavy reliance on the private sector for delivering

cargo and crew to LEO.

The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program

began in 2006 with the purpose of creating commercially operated

unmanned cargo vehicles to service the ISS.[21] The first of these

vehicles, SpaceX's Dragon, became operational in 2012, and the

second, Orbital Sciences' Cygnus, is expected to do so in 2013.[22]

The Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program was initiated

in 2010 with the purpose of creating commercially operated manned

spacecraft capable of delivering at least four crew members to the
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ISS, staying docked for 180 days and then returning them back to Earth.[23] These spacecraft are expected to

become operational around 2017.[24]

Although the Constellation program was canceled it has been replaced with a very similar beyond low-Earth

orbit program. The Orion spacecraft has been left virtually unchanged from its previous design. The planned

Ares V rocket has been replaced with the smaller Space Launch System (SLS), which is planned to launch both

Orion and other necessary hardware.[25] The Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), an unmanned test flight of

Orion's crew module, is planned to be launched in 2014 on a Delta IV Heavy rocket. [26] Exploration Mission-1(EM-1) is the unmanned initial launch of SLS, which is planned for 2017.[26] Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) is

the first manned flight of Orion and SLS and is scheduled for 2019.[26] EM-2 is 10-14 day mission planned to

place a crew of four into Lunar orbit. As of March 2012, the destination for EM-3 and immediate destination

focus for this new program is still in-flux.[27]

Assets and transition plan

The Space Shuttle Program occupied over 654 facilities, used over 1.2 million line items of equipment, and

employed over 5,000 people. The total value of equipment was over $12 billion. Shuttle-related facilitiesrepresented over a quarter of NASA's inventory. There were over 1,200 active suppliers to the program

throughout the United States. NASA's transition plan had the program operating through 2010 with a transition

and retirement phase lasting through 2015. During this time, the Ares I and Orion as well as the Altair Lunar

Lander were to be under development[28] (although these programs have been canceled).

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of the Space Shuttle program

The space shuttle program has been criticized for failing to achieve its promised cost and utility goals, as well as

design, cost, management, and safety issues.[29] Others have argued that the shuttle program was a step

backwards from the Apollo Program, which, while extremely dangerous, accomplished far more scientific and

space exploration endeavors than the shuttle ever could. If Apollo had continued, it may have evolved into

manned missions to other planets[citation needed].

After both the Challengerdisaster and the Columbia disaster, high profile boards convened to investigate the

accidents with both committees returning praise and serious critiques to the program and NASA management.

Some of the most famous of the criticisms, most of management, came from Nobel Prize winner Richard

Feynman, in his report that followed his appointment to the commission responsible for investigating theChallengerdisaster.[30]

Other STS program vehicles

Many other vehicles were used in support of the Space Shuttle program, mainly terrestrial transportation

vehicles.

The Crawler-Transporter carried the Mobile Launcher Platform and the space shuttle from the Vehicle

Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Complex 39.The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft are two modified Boeing 747s. Either could fly an orbiter from alternative

landing sites back to the Kennedy Space Center.

A 36-wheeled transport trailer, the Orbiter Transfer System, originally built for the U.S. Air Force's

launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California (since then converted for Delta IV rockets)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_IV_rockethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Basehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Air_Forcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Centerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Carrier_Aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launch_Complex_39http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_Assembly_Buildinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Launcher_Platformhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawler-Transporterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_Commission#Role_of_Richard_Feynmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disasterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disasterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Applications_Programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_Space_Shuttle_programhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(Constellation_program)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_Mission_1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_IV_Heavyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_Flight_Test_1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_Systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares_Vhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_spacecraft


9/12

Crawler-transporter No.2 ("Franz") in

a December 2004 road test after track

shoe replacementSTS Program mate/de-mate facility

for STS Orbiter and STS Shuttle

Carrier Aircraft (Space Shuttle

Atlantis in 1991)

would transport the orbiter

from the landing facility to

the launch pad, which

allowed both "stacking" and

launch without utilizing a

separate VAB-style

building and crawler-

transporter roadway. Priorto the closing of the

Vandenberg facility,

orbiters were transported

from the OPF to the VAB

on their undercarriages, only to be raised when the orbiter was

being lifted for attachment to the SRB/ET stack. The trailer

allowed the transportation of the orbiter from the OPF to either

the SCA-747 "Mate-Demate" stand or the VAB without placing any additional stress on the

undercarriage.The Crew Transport Vehicle (CTV), a modified airport jet bridge, was used to assist astronauts to egress

from the orbiter after landing. Upon entering the CTV, astronauts could take off their launch and re-entry

suits then proceed to chairs and beds for medical checks before being transported back to the crew

quarters in the Operations and Checkout Building.

The Astrovan was used to transport astronauts from the crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout

Building to the launch pad on launch day. It was also used to transport astronauts back again from the

Crew Transport Vehicle at the Shuttle Landing Facility.

See also

Human spaceflight

List of human spaceflights

List of space shuttle missions

Shuttle Derived Launch

Vehicle

Shuttle SERV

Space accidents and incidents

Space exploration

Space Shuttle abort modes

Space Shuttle crews

Fiction

Space Flight Simulator

Orbiter Simulation

Space Shuttle Mission 2007

Physics

Atmospheric reentry

Lifting body

Reusable launch system

Single-stage-to-orbit

Similar spacecraft

Avatar RLV

EADS Phoenix

Hermes

HOPE-X

VentureStar

KliperMilitary space shuttle

Project Constellation

Shuttle Buran program

Martin Marietta Spacemaster

References

This article incorporates public domain material (http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/policies.html#Guidelines) fromwebsites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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2. ^ abcdHepplewhite, T.A. The Space Shuttle Decision: NASA's Search for a Reusable Space Vehicle

(http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4221/sp4221.htm). Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space

Administration, 1999.

3. ^ General Accounting Office. Cost Benefit Analysis Used in Support of the Space Shuttle Program.

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4. ^ Rebecca Onion (November 15, 2012). "I Say "Space Shuttle," You Say "Space Clipper""

(http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2012/11/15/the_space_shuttle_nixon_s_aides_asked_him_to_reconsider_the_program_s_name.html). Slate (magazine). The Slate Group. Retrieved November 25, 2012.

5. ^ ab Borenstein, Seth (July 5, 2011). "AP Science Writer"

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6. ^ Brooks, Dawn The Names of the Space Shuttle Orbiters (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/shuttle/orbiters.html).

Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved July 26, 2006.

7. ^ "SPACE SHUTTLE WEATHER LAUNCH COMMIT CRITERIA AND KSC END OF MISSION WEATHER

LANDING CRITERIA" (http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/1999/39-99.htm).KSC Release No. 39-

99. NASA Kennedy Space Center. Retrieved July 6, 2009.

8. ^ abcde "Spacelab joined diverse scientists and disciplines on 28 Shuttle missions"

(http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/1999/msad15mar99_1/). NASA. March 15, 1999.

Retrieved February 11, 2011.

9. ^Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. February 1973. p. 39.

10. ^ NASA (2003) Columbia Accident Investigation Board Public Hearing Transcript

(http://caib.nasa.gov/events/public_hearings/20030423/transcript_am.html)

11. ^ Comptroller General (1972). "Report to the Congress: Cost-Benefit Analylsis Used in Support of the Space

Shuttle Program" (http://archive.gao.gov/f0302/096542.pdf) (PDF). United States General Accounting Office.

Retrieved November 25, 2008.

12. ^ NASA (2011). "How much does it cost to launch a Space Shuttle?"

(http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/information/shuttle_faq.html#10). NASA. Retrieved June 28,

2011.13. ^ David, Leonard (February 11, 2005). "Total Tally of Shuttle Fleet Costs Exceed Initial Estimates"

(http://www.space.com/news/shuttle_cost_050211.html). Space.com. Retrieved August 6, 2006.

14. ^ Berger, Brian (February 7, 2006). "NASA 2006 Budget Presented: Hubble, Nuclear Initiative Suffer"

(http://www.space.com/news/nasa_budget_050207.html). Space.com. Retrieved August 6, 2006.

15. ^ "NASA Budget Information" (http://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.html).

16. ^ Pielke Jr., Roger; Radford Byerly (7 April 2011). Shuttle programme lifetime cost

(http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v472/n7341/full/472038d.html) 472 (7341). Nature.

Bibcode:2011Natur.472...38P (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011Natur.472...38P). doi:10.1038/472038d

(http://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2F472038d). Retrieved July 14, 2011.

17. ^ Chien, Philip (June 27, 2006) "NASA wants shuttle to fly despite safety misgivings."

(http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060626-110227-5543r.htm) The Washington Times18. ^ President George W. Bush (Attributed) (2004). "President Bush Offers New Vision For NASA"

(http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/bush_vision.html). nasa.gov. Retrieved January 14, 2004.

19. ^ Mark, Roy "Mandatory Shuttle Retirement Temporarily Postponed" (April 30, 2009) Green IT, e-week.com

20. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/space-shuttle-atlantis-exhibit-opens-support-souvenirs-180805853.html

21. ^ "NASA Selects Crew and Cargo Transportation to Orbit Partners"

(http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/aug/HQ_06295_COTS_phase_1.html) (Press release). NASA. 2006-

08-18. Retrieved 2006-11-21.

22. ^ Bergin, Chris (2011-10-06). "ISS partners prepare to welcome SpaceX and Orbital in a busy 2012"

(http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/10/iss-partners-welcome-spacex-orbital-busy-2012/).

NASASpaceFlight.com (Not affiliated with NASA). Retrieved 13 December 2011.

23. ^ Berger, Brian (2011-02-01). "Biggest CCDev Award Goes to Sierra Nevada"

(http://www.spacenews.com/venture_space/100201-biggest-ccdev-award-goes-sierra-nevada.html). Imaginova

Corp. Retrieved 13 December 2011.

24. ^ "Congress wary of fully funding commercial crew"

(http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1204/24commercialcrew/). Spaceflightnow. 2012-04-24. Retrieved
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1204/24commercialcrew/http://www.spacenews.com/venture_space/100201-biggest-ccdev-award-goes-sierra-nevada.htmlhttp://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/10/iss-partners-welcome-spacex-orbital-busy-2012/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/aug/HQ_06295_COTS_phase_1.htmlhttp://news.yahoo.com/space-shuttle-atlantis-exhibit-opens-support-souvenirs-180805853.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/bush_vision.htmlhttp://www.washtimes.com/national/20060626-110227-5543r.htmhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2F472038dhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_object_identifierhttp://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011Natur.472...38Phttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibcodehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturehttp://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v472/n7341/full/472038d.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/news/budget/index.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space.comhttp://www.space.com/news/nasa_budget_050207.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space.comhttp://www.space.com/news/shuttle_cost_050211.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/about/information/shuttle_faq.html#10http://archive.gao.gov/f0302/096542.pdfhttp://caib.nasa.gov/events/public_hearings/20030423/transcript_am.htmlhttp://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/1999/msad15mar99_1/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/1999/39-99.htmhttp://www.hq.nasa.gov/osf/shuttle/orbiters.htmlhttp://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2011/07/05/space_shuttles_legacy_soaring_in_orbit_and_costs/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slate_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_(magazine)http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2012/11/15/the_space_shuttle_nixon_s_aides_asked_him_to_reconsider_the_program_s_name.htmlhttp://history.nasa.gov/SP-4221/sp4221.htmhttp://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1108/29shannon/


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28 April 2012.

25. ^ "NASA Announces Design for New Deep Space Exploration System"

(http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls1.html). NASA. 2011-09-14. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

26. ^ abc Bergin, Chris (2012-02-23). "Acronyms to Ascent SLS managers create development milestone

roadmap" (http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/02/acronyms-ascent-sls-managers-create-developmental-

milestone-roadmap/). NASA. Retrieved 29 April 2012.

27. ^ Bergin, Chris (2012-03-26). "NASA Advisory Council: Select a Human Exploration Destination ASAP"

(http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/03/nac-select-human-exploration-destination-asap/). NasaSpaceflight

(not affiliated with NASA). Retrieved 28 April 2012.28. ^ Olson, John; Joel Kearns (August 2008). "NASA Transition Management Plan"

(http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/202388main_Transition_Mgmt_Plan-Final.pdf). JICB-001. National Aeronautics and

Space Administration.

29. ^ A Rocket to Nowhere (http://www.idlewords.com/2005/08/a_rocket_to_nowhere.htm), Maciej Cegowski,

Idle Words, March 8, 2005.

30. ^ [1] (http://science.ksc .nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-l/docs/rogers-commission/Appendix-F.txt), additional

text.

Further reading

Shuttle Reference manual (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/stsref-toc.html)

Orbiter Vehicles (http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters.html)

Shuttle Program Funding 1992 2002 (http://www.house.gov/science/hot/columbia/rs21411.pdf)

NASA Space Shuttle News Reference 1981 (PDF document)

(http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19810022734_1981022734.pdf)

R. A. Pielke, "Space Shuttle Value open to Interpretation"

(http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/publication_files/resource-100-1993.01.pdf), Aviation Week,

issue 26. July 1993, p. 57 (.pdf)

External links

Official NASA Mission Site (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html)

NASA Johnson Space Center Space Shuttle Site (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/spaceshuttle/)

Official Space Shuttle Mission Archives

(http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/list_main.html)

NASA Space Shuttle Multimedia Gallery & Archives

(http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/multimedia/index.html)

Shuttle audio, video, and images (http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/index.html) searchable archives from STS-67 (1995) to present

Kennedy Space Center Media Gallery (http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=71)

searchable video/audio/photo gallery

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding the Space Shuttle

(http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/search.tkl?

q=space+shuttle&search_crit=title&search=Search&date1=Anytime&date2=Anytime&type=form)

U.S. Space Flight History: Space Shuttle Program

(http://www.spaceflighthistory.com/shuttleprogram.htm)

Weather criteria for Shuttle launch (http://chandra.harvard.edu/launch/status/weather_criteria2.html)Consolidated Launch Manifest: Space Shuttle Flights and ISS Assembly Sequence

(http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html)

USENET posting Unofficial Space FAQ by Jon Leech (http://www.faqs.org/faqs/space/controversy/)

Witnesses' Waltz by Leslie Fish 1986 Pegasus Award Winner for Best Original Song, about watching
http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/witnesses-waltz.htmlhttp://www.faqs.org/faqs/space/controversy/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.htmlhttp://chandra.harvard.edu/launch/status/weather_criteria2.htmlhttp://www.spaceflighthistory.com/shuttleprogram.htmhttp://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/search.tkl?q=space+shuttle&search_crit=title&search=Search&date1=Anytime&date2=Anytime&type=formhttp://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/search.cfm?cat=71http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/index.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/multimedia/index.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/list_main.htmlhttp://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/spaceshuttle/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.htmlhttp://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/publication_files/resource-100-1993.01.pdfhttp://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19810022734_1981022734.pdfhttp://www.house.gov/science/hot/columbia/rs21411.pdfhttp://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/orbiters.htmlhttp://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/stsref-toc.htmlhttp://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-l/docs/rogers-commission/Appendix-F.txthttp://www.idlewords.com/2005/08/a_rocket_to_nowhere.htmhttp://www.nasa.gov/pdf/202388main_Transition_Mgmt_Plan-Final.pdfhttp://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/03/nac-select-human-exploration-destination-asap/http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/02/acronyms-ascent-sls-managers-create-developmental-milestone-roadmap/http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls1.html


12/12

the Space Shuttles launch (http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/witnesses-waltz.html)

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