RetiredNASAFirst Launch: 1981-04-12
Space Shuttle
Reusable crewed orbital spaceplane system that flew 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, launching satellites, building the ISS, and servicing the Hubble Space Telescope.
SpaceStats Reliability & Flight Record
TOTAL LAUNCHES
135
Orbital missions
SUCCESSFUL
133
2 failures
SUCCESS RATE
98.5%
LANDINGS
133
Reusable First Stage
NASAFeatured Photography
Space Shuttle Columbia STS-1 Maiden Liftoff
NASA
Technical & Propulsion Specifications
Operator: NASAVehicle Dimensions & Mass
- Overall Height
- 56 m
- Body Diameter
- 8.7 m
- Gross Lift-off Mass
- 2,030 t
- Stages Count
- 2
- Fairing Diameter
- 4.6 m
Stage 1 (Booster)
- Recovery Mode
- Reusable VTVL
Stage 2 & Capacities
- LEO Capacity
- 27.5 t
- GTO Capacity
- 4.9 t
- Cost per Launch
- $450,000,000
- LEO Price / kg
- ~$16,364 / kg
Fleet Deployment & Economics Suite
Model Satellite Constellations or Payload Charters with Space Shuttle
Calculate multi-plane Walker Delta fleet costs, fairing dispenser limits, launch cadence timelines, and single-mission rideshare economics.
High-Resolution Photo Gallery & Media
5 photos & renders of Space Shuttle
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Liftoff1981-04-12Space Shuttle Columbia STS-1 Maiden Liftoff
First orbital flight of the Space Shuttle system, carrying astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen into orbit.
NASA
Source 
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Pad2011-06-25Space Shuttle Atlantis on Launch Pad 39A
Space Shuttle Atlantis mated to the external tank and twin solid rocket boosters on Launch Complex 39A.
NASA / Kim Shiflett
Source 
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Landing2005-08-09Discovery Touchdown on Runway 15
Space Shuttle Discovery deploying its drag chute during touchdown on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at Kennedy Space Center.
NASA
Source 
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Space2006-09-17Atlantis Docked to the International Space Station
Space Shuttle Atlantis photographed from the space station with its payload bay doors wide open in low Earth orbit.
NASA
Source 
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Engine2002-04-18RS-25 Space Shuttle Main Engine Static Fire
Full-duration static test firing of the RS-25 hydrolox rocket engine at NASA Stennis Space Center.
NASA Stennis
Source SpaceStats Launch Manifest & Database
0 mission records cataloged in database
No individual manifest entries logged in database for Space Shuttle.
Summary stats and flight achievements are detailed in the overview above.