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 Automated Transfer Vehicle,originally Ariane Transfer Vehicle or ATV,was an expendable cargo spacecraft developed by the European Space Agency (ESA),used for space cargo transport in 2008–2015. The ATV design was launched to orbit five times,exclusively by the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle. It effectively was a larger European counterpart to the Russian Progress cargo spacecraft for carrying upmass to a single destination—the International Space Station (ISS)—but with three times the capacity.
Orbital Sciences Corporation was an American company specializing in the design,manufacture,and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial,military and other government customers. In 2014,Orbital merged with Alliant Techsystems (ATK) to create a new company called Orbital ATK,which in turn was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018.
Dream Chaser is an American reusable lifting-body spaceplane developed by Sierra Space. Originally intended as a crewed vehicle,the Dream Chaser Space System is set to be produced after the Dream Chaser Cargo System cargo variant is operational. The crewed variant is planned to carry up to seven people and cargo to and from low Earth orbit. Sierra plans to manufacture a fleet of the spaceplane.
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.
PlanetSpace was a privately funded Chicago-based rocket and space travel project founded by Geoff Sheerin,CEO of the Canadian Arrow corporation. The owner was Dr. Chirinjeev Kathuria.
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) was a NASA program to spur the development of private spacecraft and launch vehicles for deliveries to the International Space Station (ISS). Launched in 2006,COTS successfully concluded in 2013 after completing all demonstration flights.
Crew Space Transportation System (CSTS),or Advanced Crew Transportation System (ACTS),was a proposed design for a crewed spacecraft for low Earth orbit operations such as servicing the International Space Station,but also capable of exploration of the Moon and beyond. It was originally a joint project between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Roscosmos,but later became solely an ESA project. This study was conceived as a basic strategic plan to keep a viable European human spaceflight program alive.
The Ares V was the planned cargo launch component of the cancelled NASA Constellation program,which was to have replaced the Space Shuttle after its retirement in 2011. Ares V was also planned to carry supplies for a human presence on Mars. Ares V and the smaller Ares I were named after Ares,the Greek god of war.
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).
Cygnus is an expendable American automated cargo spacecraft designed for International Space Station (ISS) resupply missions. It was initially developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation with financial support from NASA under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. To create Cygnus,Orbital paired a pressurized cargo module,largely based on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module,built by Thales Alenia Space and previously used by the Space Shuttle for ISS resupply,with a service module based on Orbital's GEOStar,a satellite bus. After a successful demonstration flight in 2013,Orbital was chosen to receive a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. A larger Enhanced Cygnus was introduced in 2015. Orbital Sciences merged into Orbital ATK in 2015;Northrop Grumman purchased Orbital ATK in 2018 and has continued to operate Cygnus missions. A further enlarged Mission B Cygnus is expected to be introduced in 2025.
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft.
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.
Development of the Commercial Crew Program (CCDev) began in the second round of the program,which was rescoped from a smaller technology development program for human spaceflight to a competitive development program that would produce the spacecraft to be used to provide crew transportation services to and from the International Space Station (ISS). To implement the program,NASA awarded a series of competitive fixed-price contracts to private vendors starting in 2011. Operational contracts to fly astronauts were awarded in September 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing,and NASA expected each company to complete development and achieve crew rating in 2017. Each company performed an uncrewed orbital test flight in 2019.
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 European Service Module (ESM) is the service module component of the Orion spacecraft,serving as its primary power and propulsion component until it is discarded at the end of each mission. In January 2013,NASA announced that the European Space Agency (ESA) will contribute the service module for Artemis I,based on the ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). It was delivered by Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen,in northern Germany to NASA at the end of 2018. After approval of the first module,the ESA will provide the ESMs from Artemis II to Artemis VI.
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.
The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA,conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Space Station program. American space manufacturer SpaceX began providing service in 2020,using the Crew Dragon spacecraft,and NASA plans to add Boeing when its Boeing Starliner spacecraft becomes operational no earlier than 2025. NASA has contracted for six operational missions from Boeing and fourteen from SpaceX,ensuring sufficient support for ISS through 2030.
