6 July 2011Last updated at 18:33

Space shuttle timeline

The story of the space shuttle

After three decades the shuttle era has ended. With the 135th and final mission touching down on 21 July 2011, we chart some of the highs and lows of its many journeys into space.

Image: The space shuttle commencing launch

1977 Test flight
1981 First launch
1983 Spacewalk
1983 US spacewoman
1984 Untethered spacewalk
1986 Challenger disaster
1988 Return to flight
1989 Magellan launched
1990 Hubble telescope
1993 Hubble repaired
1995 Shuttle-Mir docking
1998 Oldest man in space
1998 ISS mission begins
2003 Columbia disaster
2004 Beginning
of the end
2005 Return to flight
2007 Teacher in space
2008 Columbus lab
2011 Discovery's last flight
2011 Endeavour's last flight
2011 The final flight

Test flight
12 August 1977
The space shuttle was conceived as a concept long before man had even stepped on to the Moon. Its development seemed to many the stuff of science fiction made real. The test orbiter, Enterprise, even had a name taken from the Star Trek TV series.
First launch
12 April 1981
When Columbia made the inaugural launch, she was manned by astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen. Even today that seems daring - that they should climb aboard a vehicle that had not first been sent on an unmanned test mission.
Spacewalk
4 April 1983
Challenger, the second shuttle, was the first to conduct a spacewalk. With two machines Nasa now had a fleet of re-usable spaceplanes. They would change the way humans would live and work in space. Large payloads could be taken into orbit - even retrieved and returned safely to Earth.
Spacewoman
18 June 1983
The multi-seat shuttle meant many more people could go into space than had been the case with Nasa's earlier capsule designs. Many non-military personnel were called up, including physicist Sally Ride - the first American woman to go into space.
Untethered spacewalk
7 February 1984
Shuttle missions provided some iconic moments. Bruce McCandless hanging in space above a blue globe is surely one of the most majestic. McCandless was testing the Manned Maneuvering Unit, a device that enabled un-tethered spacewalks.
Challenger disaster
28 January 1986
Challenger's destruction 72 seconds into its mission punctured the notion that space flight had become routine. An investigation concluded that the seal on a rocket booster had failed, leading to the shuttle's disintegration. Among the seven astronauts lost was Christa McAuliffe, who was to become the first US civilian in space.
Return to flight
29 September 1988
Twice Discovery would be called upon to return the orbiters to active service following a major accident. The first return to flight mission saw astronauts wear their familiar pressurised Launch Escape, or "pumpkin", suits for the first time.
Magellan launched
4 May 1989
Magellan was the first planetary mission to be launched by an orbiter. It was despatched to Venus to make a radar map of its surface. In the years ahead the shuttle would launch a range of science probes and telescopes.
Hubble telescope
24 April 1990
The shuttle would have a recurring association with the Hubble Space Telescope. The astronomical facility would transform our knowledge of the cosmos, but without the regular servicing from orbiter astronauts the HST would never have lasted as long.
Hubble repaired
2 December 1993
The most important of those re-visits was made by Endeavour within four years of the original launch. The shuttle carried up the equipment that would correct Hubble's flawed vision. The telescope became one of the best showcases for the shuttle.
Shuttle-Mir docking
27 June 1995
Before the International Space Station there was Mir, the Russian platform. The lessons learned from the 11 orbiter flights to Mir would pave the way for the ISS and the concept of a station project operated by multiple partners.
Oldest man in space
29 October 1998
John Glenn was America's first orbiting astronaut in 1962. His flight on Discovery in 1998 made him not only the oldest person to fly in space at the age of 77, but the only one to have flown in both the Mercury and Space shuttle programmes.
ISS mission begins
4 December 1998
Russia began the construction of the ISS, a $100bn (£62bn) project that would take more than 10 years to complete. Some 36 shuttle flights would follow Endeavour's delivery of the first US component - a connecting module called Unity.
Columbia disaster
1 February 2003
Columbia's loss underlined once again the vulnerabilities in the shuttle transportation system's design. Insulation foam falling off the external tank on lift-off had damaged the ship's left wing. The hot gases encountered on re-entry penetrated the hole and tore Columbia apart.
Beginning of the end
14 January 2004
Shuttle safety was now a pressing issue. George W Bush signalled the fleet's retirement, and suggested a replacement transport system be developed to take astronauts back to the Moon. His Constellation project would be cancelled by his successor, however.
“Start Quote
In 2010, the space shuttle, after nearly 30 years of duty, will be retired from service.”
End QuotePresident George W Bush14 January 2004
Return to flight
26 July 2005
When Eileen Collins and her crew took Discovery back into space, a series of modifications had been introduced to the shuttle and its operation. This included the introduction of a back-flip manoeuvre at the ISS, to allow for a photo inspection of the orbiter's heatshield.
Teacher in space
8 August 2007
Barbara Morgan was the back-up to Christa McAuliffe in 1986. A teacher by profession, she later joined Nasa's astronaut corps as a mission specialist. Twenty-one years after the Challenger accident, she finally got her chance to go into space.
Columbus lab
7 February 2008
The Columbus space lab was Europe's largest contribution to the International Space Station to date. Designed to stay in space permanently, the 12.8-tonne Columbus module was plucked from its berth in Atlantis's bay by the station's robotic arm.
Discovery's last flight
24 February 2011
Space shuttle Discovery was regarded as the "leader of the fleet". She conducted both the "return to flight missions" following Challenger and Columbia. She also flew more missions, 39, than any of the other orbiters.
Endeavour's last flight
16 May 2011
The space station could not have been built without the space shuttle. Remarkably, though, it was not until the penultimate flight of the programme that everyone got to see a close-up image of a shuttle actually docked to the orbiting outpost.
The final flight
21 July 2011
The 135th and final shuttle mission saw Atlantis ferry 3.5 tonnes of supplies to the International Space Station. The 26-year-old craft landed at dawn at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 21 July 2011, closing the shuttle programme.

Magellan

Test flight
12 August 1977
The space shuttle was conceived as a concept long before man had even stepped on to the Moon. Its development seemed to many the stuff of science fiction made real. The test orbiter, Enterprise, even had a name taken from the Star Trek TV series.
First launch
12 April 1981
When Columbia made the inaugural launch, she was manned by astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen. Even today that seems daring - that they should climb aboard a vehicle that had not first been sent on an unmanned test mission.
Spacewalk
4 April 1983
Challenger, the second shuttle, was the first to conduct a spacewalk. With two machines Nasa now had a fleet of re-usable spaceplanes. They would change the way humans would live and work in space. Large payloads could be taken into orbit - even retrieved and returned safely to Earth.
Spacewoman
18 June 1983
The multi-seat shuttle meant many more people could go into space than had been the case with Nasa's earlier capsule designs. Many non-military personnel were called up, including physicist Sally Ride - the first American woman to go into space.
Untethered spacewalk
7 February 1984
Shuttle missions provided some iconic moments. Bruce McCandless hanging in space above a blue globe is surely one of the most majestic. McCandless was testing the Manned Maneuvering Unit, a device that enabled un-tethered spacewalks.
Challenger disaster
28 January 1986
Challenger's destruction 72 seconds into its mission punctured the notion that space flight had become routine. An investigation concluded that the seal on a rocket booster had failed, leading to the shuttle's disintegration. Among the seven astronauts lost was Christa McAuliffe, who was to become the first US civilian in space.
Return to flight
29 September 1988
Twice Discovery would be called upon to return the orbiters to active service following a major accident. The first return to flight mission saw astronauts wear their familiar pressurised Launch Escape, or "pumpkin", suits for the first time.
Magellan launched
4 May 1989
Magellan was the first planetary mission to be launched by an orbiter. It was despatched to Venus to make a radar map of its surface. In the years ahead the shuttle would launch a range of science probes and telescopes.
Hubble telescope
24 April 1990
The shuttle would have a recurring association with the Hubble Space Telescope. The astronomical facility would transform our knowledge of the cosmos, but without the regular servicing from orbiter astronauts the HST would never have lasted as long.
Hubble repaired
2 December 1993
The most important of those re-visits was made by Endeavour within four years of the original launch. The shuttle carried up the equipment that would correct Hubble's flawed vision. The telescope became one of the best showcases for the shuttle.
Shuttle-Mir docking
27 June 1995
Before the International Space Station there was Mir, the Russian platform. The lessons learned from the 11 orbiter flights to Mir would pave the way for the ISS and the concept of a station project operated by multiple partners.
Oldest man in space
29 October 1998
John Glenn was America's first orbiting astronaut in 1962. His flight on Discovery in 1998 made him not only the oldest person to fly in space at the age of 77, but the only one to have flown in both the Mercury and Space shuttle programmes.
ISS mission begins
4 December 1998
Russia began the construction of the ISS, a $100bn (£62bn) project that would take more than 10 years to complete. Some 36 shuttle flights would follow Endeavour's delivery of the first US component - a connecting module called Unity.
Columbia disaster
1 February 2003
Columbia's loss underlined once again the vulnerabilities in the shuttle transportation system's design. Insulation foam falling off the external tank on lift-off had damaged the ship's left wing. The hot gases encountered on re-entry penetrated the hole and tore Columbia apart.
Beginning of the end
14 January 2004
Shuttle safety was now a pressing issue. George W Bush signalled the fleet's retirement, and suggested a replacement transport system be developed to take astronauts back to the Moon. His Constellation project would be cancelled by his successor, however.
“Start Quote
In 2010, the space shuttle, after nearly 30 years of duty, will be retired from service.”
End QuotePresident George W Bush14 January 2004
Return to flight
26 July 2005
When Eileen Collins and her crew took Discovery back into space, a series of modifications had been introduced to the shuttle and its operation. This included the introduction of a back-flip manoeuvre at the ISS, to allow for a photo inspection of the orbiter's heatshield.
Teacher in space
8 August 2007
Barbara Morgan was the back-up to Christa McAuliffe in 1986. A teacher by profession, she later joined Nasa's astronaut corps as a mission specialist. Twenty-one years after the Challenger accident, she finally got her chance to go into space.
Columbus lab
7 February 2008
The Columbus space lab was Europe's largest contribution to the International Space Station to date. Designed to stay in space permanently, the 12.8-tonne Columbus module was plucked from its berth in Atlantis's bay by the station's robotic arm.
Discovery's last flight
24 February 2011
Space shuttle Discovery was regarded as the "leader of the fleet". She conducted both the "return to flight missions" following Challenger and Columbia. She also flew more missions, 39, than any of the other orbiters.
Endeavour's last flight
16 May 2011
The space station could not have been built without the space shuttle. Remarkably, though, it was not until the penultimate flight of the programme that everyone got to see a close-up image of a shuttle actually docked to the orbiting outpost.
The final flight
21 July 2011
The 135th and final shuttle mission saw Atlantis ferry 3.5 tonnes of supplies to the International Space Station. The 26-year-old craft landed at dawn at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 21 July 2011, closing the shuttle programme.

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Space shuttle timeline

The story of the space shuttle

Test flight

12 August 1977

First launch

12 April 1981

Spacewalk

4 April 1983

Spacewoman

18 June 1983

Untethered spacewalk

7 February 1984

Challenger disaster

28 January 1986

Return to flight

29 September 1988

Magellan launched

4 May 1989

Hubble telescope

24 April 1990

Hubble repaired

2 December 1993

Shuttle-Mir docking

27 June 1995

Oldest man in space

29 October 1998

ISS mission begins

4 December 1998

Columbia disaster

1 February 2003

Beginning of the end

14 January 2004

“Start Quote

Return to flight

26 July 2005

Teacher in space

8 August 2007

Columbus lab

7 February 2008

Discovery's last flight

24 February 2011

Endeavour's last flight

16 May 2011

The final flight

21 July 2011

Magellan

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