Rocket or aeroplane?

The Space Shuttle was designed as a replacement for the huge and expensive Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo moon landing missions.

The Shuttle was designed to be cheaper to operate by being reusable. It launches vertically, like a rocket, but lands very much like an aeroplane, gliding down to a runway, and landing on retractable wheeled undercarriage.

There have been five spaceworthy shuttles, the first of which launched on 12th April 1981. There have been over 120 missions to date, and NASA currently plans to retire the Shuttles in 2010. It will be replaced by a family of rockets, named "Ares" which will be similar to the Saturn V.

Moving the Shuttle

The Shuttle is prepared for launch in NASA's enormous Vertical assembly building. It is lifted onto a huge transporter (left), that moves at just 1 mph to the launch pad - named Complex 39.

When a shuttle has completed its mission in space, it lands at one of the special landing sites NASA has prepared for the shuttle. NASA prefers the shuttle to land at its own site, but if it needs to land somewhere else, NASA own two specially strengthened Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets that can carry the Shuttle back to base after landing.

On one of the 747's NASA have added a warning sign on the top that reads "Attach Orbiter Here, Black Side Down"!

At work in space

Space Shuttle crews have conducted numerous experiments in space, carried many satellites to orbit, and in 1990 launched the Hubble Space Telescope. It has also flown missions to maintain and repair the Hubble telescope.

Many of the more recent flights have been to the International Space Station. The Shuttle has carried many sections and parts of the ISS into space, and brought components, tools, supplies and crews to replenish the space station.

On several missions crews have used the Shuttle's robotic arm (called Canadarm) as a crane during construction and maintenance jobs. It is called Canadarm because it was developed in Canada.

Commanders, Pilots and Mission Specialists

A Shuttle crew is usually made up of a commander and a pilot, who fly the shuttle, and two to five mission specialists.

The Shuttle has a "glass cockpit", similar to a modern airliner, full of computer screens. Shuttle pilots are highly trained in flying this complex craft, but also need to participate in the work of the mission once up in space.

The mission specialists on the crew are trained to carry out specialised tasks - spacewalking, ISS construction, technical experiments, or maybe monitoring the crew's health.