This article is about the NASA Space Shuttle. For information on the Soviet space shuttle, see the article Shuttle Buran.

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States government's current manned launch vehicle. The winged shuttle orbiter is launched vertically, usually carrying five to seven astronauts (although eight have been carried) and up to 22,700 kg (50,000 lb) of payload into low earth orbit. When its mission is complete, it fires its maneouvering thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enters the earth's atmosphere. During the descent and landing, the shuttle orbiter acts as a glider and makes a completely unpowered landing.

The Shuttle is the first orbital spacecraft designed for partial reusability. It is also so far the only winged manned spacecraft to achieve orbit and land. It carries large payloads to various orbits, provides crew rotation for the International Space Station (ISS), and performs servicing missions. The orbiter can recover satellites and other payloads from orbit and return them to Earth, but this capacity has not been used often. However, it has been used to return large payloads from the ISS to earth, as the Russian Soyuz spacecraft has limited capacity for return payloads. Each Shuttle was designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or 10 years' operational life.

More on [ Space Shuttle program ]

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