The Space Shuttle
NASA’s iconic Space Shuttle era spanned across 30 years, operating from 1981 to 2011. The partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft flew a total of 135 missions, carrying astronauts to orbit, repairing hardware in space, and even helping to build the largest structure in Earth’s orbit, the ISS.
Related article: The Space Shuttle Was a Beautiful—but Terrible—Idea
The Space Shuttle not only increased NASA’s access to space, but it also inspired a new era in spaceflight. In the above photo, the Space Shuttle Discovery is seen from the ISS after the two spacecraft had separated on March 7, 2011.
