View a schematic of the space shuttle orbiter, including the layout of the flight deck and mid-deck for astronauts, the cargo bay for payloads, and various support systems, such as avionics equipment and the fuel system.

View a 3D visualization of how space shuttles were built and launched into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Take a 360-degree tour of Discovery with Kathryn Sullivan and Charles Bolden, who flew together on the space shuttle during its deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope. (VR device-compatible)

Explore the interior and exterior of the Atlantis and Endeavour space shuttles, including their flight decks, cargo bays, and other compartments.

View a gallery of all 135 space shuttle mission patches.

Although it drew inspiration from spaceplane concepts of the 1920s, the Space Shuttle program began to take shape after the Space Race, as the US sought to establish a space station and a reusable transportation system for astronauts and satellites.

During the Space Shuttle program, NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft—two specially modified Boeing 747s—transported space shuttles between landing sites and launch facilities.

View a timeline of NASA's Space Shuttle program, which saw five reusable orbiters take a total of 355 astronauts across a combined distance of almost six trips to the sun.

The Columbia disaster contributed to the end of the Space Shuttle program and NASA's reliance on commercial partners such as SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts and cargo.

The unloading and maneuvering of the space shuttle's payload were accomplished by the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System—a robotic arm designed and constructed in Canada, which led to it being colloquially known as the Canadarm.

Most elements of the International Space Station were installed over two decades

Space shuttles delivered storage carriers, docking compartments, airlocks, solar arrays, and labs, which were assembled in low Earth orbit. The station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, alongside maneuvering spacewalkers, has assisted with this assembly since its installation in 2001.

View a media gallery from the assembly of Voyager 1 and 2

This archive includes the many steps it took to put together each Voyager probe. Photos focus on individual parts, like the 8-track tape deck, the large dish-shaped antenna, and its long arm magnetometer boom.

The Columbia disaster exposed fatal flaws in NASA's shuttle program

On Feb. 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The tragedy revealed long-ignored safety warnings, leading NASA to ground the shuttle fleet and overhaul its safety culture.

The space shuttle's thermal protection system relied on tiles made of silica aerogels—substances primarily made from sand that are over 90% air by volume and able to withstand temperatures up to 1200 degrees Celsius (2200 degrees Fahrenheit).

Explore a virtual tour of the Starlab Space Station

Hilton plans to design much of the interior of the free-flying commercial facility to provide comfort and hospitality during astronauts' in-space living. Starlab will include crew communal areas, wellness spaces, and advanced sleeping quarters.

Major milestones of the Space Shuttle program's 135 missions included the launches of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the first American woman and African-American astronauts in space.

In 2021 US dollars, space shuttles cost $65,400 per kilogram, making them the most expensive spacecraft for payloads greater than 20,000 kilograms.

Starbase is SpaceX's testing ground for their most powerful rocket, Starship

Located near the southernmost part of Texas, the complex includes rocket bays, test pads, the "Rocket Garden" where flown, cancelled, or retired spacecraft are kept. The outdoor seating area of the site's private restaurant is covered in Mk1 Starship prototype flaps.

Watch how dozens of everyday human tasks are performed in space

This playlist features clips of astronauts aboard the International Space Station explaining how they cook, eat, sleep, and conduct research in microgravity. Other activities to pass the time, including watering plants and playing soccer, are also shown.

In honor of scientific exploration, all five launched space shuttles were named after ships that traveled the oceans, but a campaign from Star Trek fans led to the shuttle prototype being named Enterprise.

Explore what Challenger was supposed to do on its mission

STS-51L's planned seven-day mission included deploying satellites, studying Comet Halley, conducting fluid dynamics experiments, and broadcasting live lessons from orbit—routine scientific and educational tasks that were never carried out after the shuttle was lost shortly after launch.

Explore a series of NASA visualizations tracking satellites and space debris

The series illustrates the population of objects orbiting Earth as of February 2024, using data from US Space Command. These include active satellites, defunct spacecraft, rocket bodies and debris fragments larger than roughly 10 centimeters in low Earth orbit.

Guide a ship to dock at the International Space Station

Dozens of ships dock at the ISS yearly, rotating astronaut crews and delivering supplies. This simulation lets you try docking a SpaceX Dragon 2 using the same interface and controls as NASA astronauts.

Take a virtual tour of the International Space Station

The ISS is the largest human-made object in space. Its modules were meticulously connected by robotic arms and astronauts during slow, careful spacewalks, creating a structure with over eight miles of electrical wire.

Watch a supercut of the various iterations of SpaceX's Starship rocket

The first version, called Starhopper, was named with the vision of developing rocket stages that could safely land after use, enabling reusability to cut costs. The endeavor was an enormous engineering challenge that required years of testing.

View the docket of future SpaceX launches

SpaceX has established an efficient schedule for launches of ISS crew shuttles and Starlink satellites, with blastoffs occurring just under once every four days in 2023—a pace that has since accelerated as the company has won more contracts.

Watch the Challenger disaster unfold in real time

On January 28, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart just 73 seconds after liftoff. This live CNN broadcast captures the tragedy as it happened—second by second—showing the shock and confusion of one of NASA's darkest moments.

Space tourism opportunities have been explored since the end of the Apollo era

In the 1970s, Rockwell International, a NASA contractor, and others investigated manufacturing passenger modules that could fit into the Space Shuttle's payload bay. NASA also opened spaceflights to nongovernment professionals, but many such programs were ended after the Challenger disaster, which killed the first Teacher in Space participant.