With the project reaching 30 years of age, the final Space Shuttle mission took to the skies in July 2011. Over the three decades, 135 missions took place, using five different space-worthy Orbiters; Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.
Developed as a hybrid vehicle, the Space Transportation System consisted of the aircraft-like Orbiter that carried crew and cargo, and the Booster section, consisting of the giant External Tank (the ET), and two Solid-fuel Rocket Boosters (the SRBs).
At launch, the Orbiter’s three engines fire, powered by fuel from the External Tank, plus the two SRBs, developing a thrust of over seven million pounds (three million kg). The SRBs are jettisoned at an altitude 28 miles (45km), and the ET at 70 miles (112.5km). Having completed its mission, the Orbiter returns unpowered, and lands on a runway like a conventional aircraft.
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