OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaThe Space Shuttle was a special spacecraft that could be used over and over again! It took off like a rocket, flew in space like a spaceship, and then landed like an airplane. NASA used the Space Shuttle from 1981 to 2011.
The Space Shuttle had three main parts: the orbiter, which looked like an airplane; two big white rocket boosters on the sides; and a huge orange fuel tank in the middle. The rocket boosters and fuel tank fell off during launch, but the orbiter flew into space. After the mission, the orbiter glided back to Earth and landed on a runway.
- There were five Space Shuttles: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.
- The Space Shuttle helped build the International Space Station piece by piece.
- Astronauts used the Space Shuttle to fix the Hubble Space Telescope, which was like doing a repair job in space!
