The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS),taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development,as a proposed nuclear shuttle in the plan was cancelled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries,many on multiple trips.
The Constellation program was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA,the space agency of the United States,from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a "return to the Moon no later than 2020" with a crewed flight to the planet Mars as the ultimate goal. The program's logo reflected the three stages of the program:the Earth (ISS),the Moon,and finally Mars—while the Mars goal also found expression in the name given to the program's booster rockets:Ares. The technological aims of the program included the regaining of significant astronaut experience beyond low Earth orbit and the development of technologies necessary to enable sustained human presence on other planetary bodies.
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) was the first solid-propellant rocket to be used for primary propulsion on a vehicle used for human spaceflight. A pair of these provided 85% of the Space Shuttle's thrust at liftoff and for the first two minutes of ascent. After burnout,they were jettisoned and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean where they were recovered,examined,refurbished,and reused.
The Space Shuttle external tank (ET) was the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contained the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplied the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three RS-25 main engines in the orbiter. The ET was jettisoned just over 10 seconds after main engine cut-off (MECO) and it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. Unlike the Solid Rocket Boosters,external tanks were not re-used. They broke up before impact in the Indian Ocean,away from shipping lanes and were not recovered.
The RS-25,also known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME),is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine that was used on NASA's Space Shuttle and is used on the Space Launch System (SLS).
The RS-68 (Rocket System-68) was a liquid-fuel rocket engine that used liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as propellants in a gas-generator cycle. It was the largest hydrogen-fueled rocket engine ever flown.
Shuttle-derived vehicles (SDV) are space launch vehicles and spacecraft that use components,technology,and infrastructure originally developed for the Space Shuttle program.
The Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) is the official title of a large-scale,system level study released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in November 2005 of his goal of returning astronauts to the Moon and eventually Mars—known as the Vision for Space Exploration. The Constellation Program was cancelled in 2010 by the Obama Administration and replaced with the Space Launch System,later renamed as the Artemis Program in 2017 under the Trump Administration.
The Altair spacecraft,previously known as the Lunar Surface Access Module or LSAM,was the planned lander spacecraft component of NASA's cancelled Constellation program. Astronauts would have used the spacecraft for landings on the Moon,which was intended to begin around 2019. The Altair spacecraft was planned to be used both for lunar sortie and lunar outpost missions.
The Earth Departure Stage (EDS) is the name given to the proposed second stage of the Block 2 Space Launch System. The EDS is intended to boost the rocket's payload into a parking orbit around the Earth and from there send the payload out of low Earth orbit to its destination in a manner similar to that of the S-IVB rocket stage used on the Saturn V rockets that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. Its development has been put on hold until stages capable of transferring heavy payloads to Mars are required.
Ares I was the crew launch vehicle that was being developed by NASA as part of the Constellation program. The name "Ares" refers to the Greek deity Ares,who is identified with the Roman god Mars. Ares I was originally known as the "Crew Launch Vehicle" (CLV).
The Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated,had three stages,and was powered by liquid fuel. Flown from 1967 to 1973,it was used for nine crewed flights to the Moon,and to launch Skylab,the first American space station.
The Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle ("HLV") was an alternate super heavy-lift launch vehicle proposal for the NASA Constellation program. It was first presented to the Augustine Commission on 17 June 2009.
DIRECT was a late-2000s proposed alternative super heavy lift launch vehicle architecture supporting NASA's Vision for Space Exploration that would replace the space agency's planned Ares I and Ares V rockets with a family of Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicles named "Jupiter". It was intended to be the alternative to the Ares I and Ares V rockets which were under development for the Constellation program,intended to develop the Orion spacecraft for use in Earth orbit,the Moon,and Mars.
The retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle fleet took place from March to July 2011. Discovery was the first of the three active Space Shuttles to be retired,completing its final mission on March 9,2011;Endeavour did so on June 1. The final shuttle mission was completed with the landing of Atlantis on July 21,2011,closing the 30-year Space Shuttle program.
The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis Moon landing program,SLS is designed to launch the crewed Orion spacecraft on a trans-lunar trajectory. The first SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis 1,which took place on 16 November 2022.
Artemis I,formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1),was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program,Artemis I marked the agency's return to lunar exploration after the conclusion of the Apollo program five decades earlier. It was the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket,and its main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft,especially its heat shield,in preparation for subsequent Artemis missions. These missions seek to reestablish a human presence on the Moon and demonstrate technologies and business approaches needed for future scientific studies,including exploration of Mars.
A super heavy-lift launch vehicle is a rocket that can lift to low Earth orbit a "super heavy payload",which is defined as more than 50 metric tons (110,000 lb) by the United States and as more than 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) by Russia. It is the most capable launch vehicle classification by mass to orbit,exceeding that of the heavy-lift launch vehicle classification.
The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. It is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The program's stated long-term goal is to establish a permanent base on the Moon to facilitate human missions to Mars.
During the lifetime of the Space Shuttle,Rockwell International and many other organizations studied various Space Shuttle designs. These involved different ways of increasing cargo and crew capacity,as well as investigating further reusability. A large focus of these designs were related to developing new shuttle boosters and improvements to the central tank,but also looked to expand NASA's ability to launch deep space missions and build modular space stations. Many of these concepts and studies would shape the concepts and programs of the 2000s such as the Constellation,Orbital Space Plane Program,and Artemis program.
