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78-456: Circinus Galaxy produced supernova SN 1996cr , which was identified over a decade after it exploded. This supernova event was first observed during 2001 as a bright, variable object in a Chandra X-ray Observatory image, but it was not confirmed as a supernova until years later. The Circinus Galaxy is one of twelve large galaxies in the " Council of Giants " surrounding the Local Group in

156-515: A Structural Test Article (STA-099), but was converted to a complete orbiter when this was found to be less expensive than converting Enterprise from its Approach and Landing Test configuration into a spaceworthy vehicle. On April 24, 1990, Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space during STS-31 . In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters ( Columbia and Challenger ) suffered catastrophic accidents, with

234-598: A crew escape system for use during controlled gliding flight. Recommendation VIII – The nation's reliance on the shuttle as its principal space launch capability created a relentless pressure on NASA to increase the flight rate ... NASA must establish a flight rate that is consistent with its resources. The Shuttle program operated accident-free for seventeen years and 88 missions after the Challenger disaster, until Columbia broke up on reentry , killing all seven crew members, on February 1, 2003. The ultimate cause of

312-471: A gyroscope glitch. NASA reported that all science instruments were safe. Within days, the 3-second error in data from one gyro was understood, and plans were made to return Chandra to full service. The gyroscope that experienced the glitch was placed in reserve and is otherwise healthy. In March 2024, Congress decided to reduce funding for NASA and its missions. This may lead to the premature end of this mission. In June 2024, Senators urged NASA to reconsider

390-514: A low grazing angle are necessary to reflect them. Chandra uses four pairs of nested mirrors, together with their support structure, called the High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA); the mirror substrate is 2 cm-thick glass, with the reflecting surface a 33 nm iridium coating, and the diameters are 65 cm, 87 cm, 99 cm and 123 cm. The thick substrate and particularly careful polishing allowed

468-605: A minimum crew of four and about 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of cargo, and being able to be rapidly turned around for future flights, with larger payloads like space station modules being lifted by the Saturn V . Two designs emerged as front-runners. One was designed by engineers at the Manned Spaceflight Center , and championed especially by George Mueller . This was a two-stage system with delta-winged spacecraft, and generally complex. An attempt to re-simplify

546-412: A resolution of 40–2000. Summary: Space Shuttle program The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for

624-514: A system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development, as a proposed nuclear shuttle in the plan was cancelled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips. The Space Shuttle , composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank , carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission

702-549: A total cost projection for the program of roughly $ 54 billion (in 2011 dollars). The total cost of the actual 30-year service life of the Shuttle program through 2011, adjusted for inflation, was $ 196 billion. In 2010, the incremental cost per flight of the Space Shuttle was $ 409 million, or $ 14,186 per kilogram ($ 6,435 per pound) to low Earth orbit (LEO). In contrast, the comparable Proton launch vehicle cost

780-509: A very precise optical surface, which is responsible for Chandra's unmatched resolution: between 80% and 95% of the incoming X-ray energy is focused into a one- arcsecond circle. However, the thickness of the substrate limits the proportion of the aperture which is filled, leading to the low collecting area compared to XMM-Newton . Chandra's highly elliptical orbit allows it to observe continuously for up to 55 hours of its 65-hour orbital period . At its furthest orbital point from Earth, Chandra

858-708: Is an Earth satellite in a 64-hour orbit, and its mission is ongoing as of 2024 . Chandra is one of the Great Observatories , along with the Hubble Space Telescope , Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (1991–2000), and the Spitzer Space Telescope (2003–2020). The telescope is named after the Nobel Prize-winning Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar . Its mission is similar to that of ESA 's XMM-Newton spacecraft, also launched in 1999 but

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936-513: Is an expanded crew. Crews of up to eight have been flown in the Orbiter, but it could have held at least a crew of ten. Various proposals for filling the payload bay with additional passengers were also made as early as 1979. One proposal by Rockwell provided seating for 74 passengers in the Orbiter payload bay, with support for three days in Earth orbit. With a smaller 64 seat orbiter, costs for

1014-448: Is called for into position during an observation. ACIS consists of 10 CCD chips and provides images as well as spectral information of the object observed. It operates in the photon energy range of 0.2–10 keV . The HRC has two micro-channel plate components and images over the range of 0.1–10 keV. It also has a time resolution of 16 microseconds . Both of these instruments can be used on their own or in conjunction with one of

1092-587: Is known for his work in determining the maximum mass of white dwarf stars, leading to greater understanding of high energy astronomical phenomena such as neutron stars and black holes . Fittingly, the name Chandra means "moon" in Sanskrit . Originally scheduled to be launched in December 1998, the spacecraft was delayed several months, eventually being launched on July 23, 1999, at 04:31 UTC by Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-93 . Chandra

1170-404: Is one of the most distant Earth-orbiting satellites. This orbit takes it beyond the geostationary satellites and beyond the outer Van Allen belt . With an angular resolution of 0.5 arcsecond (2.4 μrad), Chandra possesses a resolution over 1000 times better than that of the first orbiting X-ray telescope. CXO uses mechanical gyroscopes , which are sensors that help determine what direction

1248-682: Is scheduled to start ISS crew service from 2025. For missions beyond low Earth orbit , NASA is building the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft , part of the Artemis program . Space Shuttle missions have included: Early during development of the Space Shuttle, NASA had estimated that the program would cost $ 7.45 billion ($ 43 billion in 2011 dollars, adjusting for inflation) in development/non-recurring costs, and $ 9.3M ($ 54M in 2011 dollars) per flight. Early estimates for

1326-754: The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility ( AXAF ), is a Flagship-class space telescope launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. Chandra is sensitive to X-ray sources 100 times fainter than any previous X-ray telescope , enabled by the high angular resolution of its mirrors. Since the Earth's atmosphere absorbs the vast majority of X-rays , they are not detectable from Earth-based telescopes ; therefore space-based telescopes are required to make these observations. Chandra

1404-623: The Apollo , Skylab , and Apollo–Soyuz programs in 1975. The Shuttle was originally conceived of and presented to the public in 1972 as a 'Space Truck' which would, among other things, be used to build a United States space station in low Earth orbit during the 1980s and then be replaced by a new vehicle by the early 1990s. The stalled plans for a U.S. space station evolved into the International Space Station and were formally initiated in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan , but

1482-468: The Challenger accident). The Shuttle program continued in September 1988 with the launch of Discovery on STS-26 . The accidents did not just affect the technical design of the orbiter, but also NASA. Quoting some recommendations made by the post- Challenger Rogers commission: Recommendation I – The faulty Solid Rocket Motor joint and seal must be changed. This could be a new design eliminating

1560-681: The Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission, SpaceX's Dragon 2 sent astronauts to the ISS, restoring America's human launch capability. The first operational SpaceX mission launched on November 15, 2020, at 7:27:17 p.m. ET, carrying four astronauts to the ISS. Although the Constellation program was canceled, it has been replaced with a very similar Artemis program . The Orion spacecraft has been left virtually unchanged from its previous design. The planned Ares V rocket has been replaced with

1638-489: The International Space Station (ISS), providing crew rotation for the space station, and performing service missions on the Hubble Space Telescope . The orbiter also recovered satellites and other payloads (e.g., from the ISS) from orbit and returned them to Earth, though its use in this capacity was rare. Each vehicle was designed with a projected lifespan of 100 launches, or 10 years' operational life. Original selling points on

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1716-659: The Local Sheet . One object is possibly a satellite of the Circinus Galaxy, known as HIZOA J1353-58. HIZOA J1353-58 was discovered in a survey of neutral hydrogen (H I) and is located within the Zone of Avoidance . NuSTAR detected a ULX at the edge of this galaxy, a black hole about 100 times the mass of the Sun . Chandra X-ray Observatory The Chandra X-ray Observatory ( CXO ), previously known as

1794-671: The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), where the telescope is now operated for NASA at the Chandra X-ray Center in the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian . In the meantime, in 1978, NASA launched the first imaging X-ray telescope, Einstein (HEAO-2), into orbit. Work continued on the AXAF project throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1992, to reduce costs, the spacecraft

1872-785: The X-37B . By 2012, cargo to the International Space Station was already being delivered commercially under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services by SpaceX's partially reusable Dragon spacecraft , followed by Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft in late 2013. Crew service to the ISS is currently provided by the Russian Soyuz and, since 2020, the SpaceX Dragon 2 crew capsule, launched on the company's reusable Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program . Boeing 's Starliner capsule

1950-584: The Chandra X-ray Center. In July 2008, the International X-ray Observatory , a joint project between ESA , NASA and JAXA , was proposed as the next major X-ray observatory but was later canceled. ESA later resurrected a downsized version of the project as the Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (ATHENA), with a proposed launch in 2028. On October 10, 2018, Chandra entered safe mode operations, due to

2028-521: The Constellation program was never fully funded, and in early 2010 the Obama administration asked Congress to instead endorse a plan with heavy reliance on the private sector for delivering cargo and crew to LEO. The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program began in 2006 with the purpose of creating commercially operated uncrewed cargo vehicles to service the ISS. The first of these vehicles, SpaceX Dragon 1 , became operational in 2012, and

2106-585: The ISS in the event of an emergency. STS-135 launched on July 8, 2011, and landed at the KSC on July 21, 2011, at 5:57 a.m. EDT (09:57 UTC). From then until the launch of Crew Dragon Demo-2 on May 30, 2020, the US launched its astronauts aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Out of the five fully functional shuttle orbiters built, three remain. Enterprise , which was used for atmospheric test flights but not for orbital flight, had many parts taken out for use on

2184-465: The ISS on the Shuttle cost $ 272,000 in 2017 dollars, twice the cost of Cygnus and three times that of Dragon. NASA used a management philosophy known as success-oriented management during the Space Shuttle program which was described by historian Alex Roland in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster as "hoping for the best". Success-oriented management has since been studied by several analysts in

2262-416: The ISS suffered from long delays, design changes and cost over-runs and forced the service life of the Space Shuttle to be extended several times until 2011 when it was finally retired—serving twice as long as it was originally designed to do. In 2004, according to President George W. Bush 's Vision for Space Exploration , use of the Space Shuttle was to be focused almost exclusively on completing assembly of

2340-632: The ISS, which was far behind schedule at that point. The first experimental orbiter, Enterprise , was a high-altitude glider, launched from the back of a specially modified Boeing 747, only for initial atmospheric landing tests (ALT) . Enterprise' s first test flight was on February 18, 1977, only five years after the Shuttle program was formally initiated; leading to the launch of the first space-worthy shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1 . The Space Shuttle program finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis , in July 2011, retiring

2418-590: The Mission Management Team gave the go for launch. This mission increased the ISS crew to three. Discovery touched down successfully on July 17, 2006, at 09:14 (EDT) on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center . Following the success of STS-121 , all subsequent missions were completed without major foam problems, and the construction of the ISS was completed (during the STS-118 mission in August 2007,

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2496-799: The NASA budget was at the same time being severely constrained. Three were eventually presented to United States Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1969. The shuttle project rose to the top, largely due to tireless campaigning by its supporters. By 1970 the shuttle had been selected as the one major project for the short-term post-Apollo time frame. All Space Shuttle missions were launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Some civilian and military circumpolar space shuttle missions were planned for Vandenberg AFB in California. However,

2574-575: The Space Shuttle Exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex and has been on display there since June 29, 2013, following its refurbishment. On October 14, 2012, Endeavour completed an unprecedented 12 mi (19 km) drive on city streets from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center , where it has been on display in a temporary hangar since late 2012. The transport from

2652-574: The US. A group of astronomers have put together a public outreach project to try to get enough American citizens to persuade the US Congress to provide enough funding to avoid early termination of the observatory. In 1976, the Chandra X-ray Observatory (called AXAF at the time) was proposed to NASA by Riccardo Giacconi and Harvey Tananbaum. Preliminary work began the following year at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and

2730-422: The accident was a piece of foam separating from the external tank moments after liftoff and striking the leading edge of the orbiter's left wing, puncturing one of the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panels that covered the wing edge and protected it during reentry. As Columbia reentered the atmosphere at the end of an otherwise normal mission, hot gas penetrated the wing and destroyed it from the inside out, causing

2808-432: The airport took two days and required major street closures, the removal of over 400 city trees, and extensive work to raise power lines, level the street, and temporarily remove street signs, lamp posts, and other obstacles. Hundreds of volunteers, and fire and police personnel, helped with the transport. Large crowds of spectators waited on the streets to see the shuttle as it passed through the city. Endeavour , along with

2886-454: The area. In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters were destroyed, with loss of crew totalling 14 astronauts: There was also one abort-to-orbit and some fatal accidents on the ground during launch preparations. Close-up video footage of Challenger during its final launch on January 28, 1986, clearly shows that the problems began due to an O-ring failure on the right solid rocket booster (SRB). The hot plume of gas leaking from

2964-426: The cost to deliver payload to low-Earth orbit were as low as $ 118 per pound ($ 260/kg) of payload ($ 635/lb or $ 1,400/kg in 2011 dollars), based on marginal or incremental launch costs, and assuming a 65,000 pound (30 000 kg) payload capacity and 50 launches per year. A more realistic projection of 12 flights per year for the 15-year service life combined with the initial development costs would have resulted in

3042-532: The cuts to Chandra, which was accepted. The data gathered by Chandra has greatly advanced the field of X-ray astronomy . Here are some examples of discoveries supported by observations from Chandra: Unlike optical telescopes which possess simple aluminized parabolic surfaces (mirrors), X-ray telescopes generally use a Wolter telescope consisting of nested cylindrical paraboloid and hyperboloid surfaces coated with iridium or gold . X-ray photons would be absorbed by normal mirror surfaces, so mirrors with

3120-444: The external tank between flights.) Per-launch costs can be measured by dividing the total cost over the life of the program (including buildings, facilities, training, salaries, etc.) by the number of launches. With 135 missions, and the total cost of US$ 192 billion (in 2010 dollars), this gives approximately $ 1.5 billion per launch over the life of the Shuttle program. A 2017 study found that carrying one kilogram of cargo to

3198-461: The failed joint caused the collapse of the external tank, which then resulted in the orbiter's disintegration due to high aerodynamic stress. The accident resulted in the loss of all seven astronauts on board. Endeavour (OV-105) was built to replace Challenger (using structural spare parts originally intended for the other orbiters) and delivered in May 1991; it was first launched a year later. After

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3276-537: The final Shuttle in the fleet. The Space Shuttle program formally ended on August 31, 2011. Before the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969 , NASA began studies of Space Shuttle designs as early as October 1968. The early studies were denoted "Phase A", and in June 1970, "Phase B", which were more detailed and specific. The primary intended use of the Phase A Space Shuttle was supporting the future space station , ferrying

3354-690: The joint or a redesign of the current joint and seal. ... the Administrator of NASA should request the National Research Council to form an independent Solid Rocket Motor design oversight committee to implement the Commission's design recommendations and oversee the design effort. Recommendation II – The Shuttle Program Structure should be reviewed. ... NASA should encourage the transition of qualified astronauts into agency management Positions. Recommendation III – NASA and

3432-712: The last flight-qualified external tank (ET-94), is currently on display at the Science Center's Samuel Oschin Pavilion (in a horizontal orientation) until the completion of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center (a planned addition to the California Science Center). Once moved, it will be permanently displayed in launch configuration, complete with genuine solid rocket boosters and external tank. One area of Space Shuttle applications

3510-611: The late 1980s would be around US$ 1.5 million per seat per launch. The Rockwell passenger module had two decks, four seats across on top and two on the bottom, including a 25-inch (63.5 cm) wide aisle and extra storage space. Another design was Space Habitation Design Associates 1983 proposal for 72 passengers in the Space Shuttle Payload bay. Passengers were located in 6 sections, each with windows and its own loading ramp at launch, and with seats in different configurations for launch and landing. Another proposal

3588-697: The loss of Challenger , NASA grounded the Space Shuttle program for over two years, making numerous safety changes recommended by the Rogers Commission Report , which included a redesign of the SRB joint that failed in the Challenger accident. Other safety changes included a new escape system for use when the orbiter was in controlled flight, improved landing gear tires and brakes, and the reintroduction of pressure suits for Shuttle astronauts (these had been discontinued after STS-4 ; astronauts wore only coveralls and oxygen helmets from that point on until

3666-692: The loss of all crew members, totaling 14 astronauts. The accidents led to national level inquiries, detailed analysis of why the accidents occurred, and significant pauses where changes were made before the Shuttles returned to flight. After the Challenger disaster in January 1986, there was a delay of 32 months before the next Shuttle launch. A similar delay of 29 months occurred after the Columbia disaster in February 2003. The longest Shuttle mission

3744-610: The mission, but initially the director stood firm. On October 31, 2006, NASA announced approval of the launch of Atlantis for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, scheduled for August 28, 2008. However SM4/ STS-125 eventually launched in May 2009. One impact of Columbia was that future crewed launch vehicles, namely the Ares I , had a special emphasis on crew safety compared to other considerations. The Space Shuttle retirement

3822-405: The observatory's two transmission gratings . The transmission gratings, which swing into the optical path behind the mirrors, provide Chandra with high resolution spectroscopy. The High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) works over 0.4–10 keV and has a spectral resolution of 60–1000. The Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS) has a range of 0.09–3 keV and

3900-409: The orbiter to lose control and disintegrate. After the Columbia disaster, the International Space Station operated on a skeleton crew of two for more than two years and was serviced primarily by Russian spacecraft. While the "Return to Flight" mission STS-114 in 2005 was successful, a similar piece of foam from a different portion of the tank was shed. Although the debris did not strike Discovery ,

3978-478: The orbiter was again struck by a foam fragment on liftoff, but this damage was minimal compared to the damage sustained by Columbia ). The Columbia Accident Investigation Board, in its report, noted the reduced risk to the crew when a Shuttle flew to the International Space Station (ISS), as the station could be used as a safe haven for the crew awaiting rescue in the event that damage to the orbiter on ascent made it unsafe for reentry. The board recommended that for

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4056-622: The other orbiters. It was later visually restored and was on display at the National Air and Space Museum 's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center until April 19, 2012. Enterprise was moved to New York City in April 2012 to be displayed at the Intrepid Museum , whose Space Shuttle Pavilion opened on July 19, 2012. Discovery replaced Enterprise at the National Air and Space Museum 's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center . Atlantis formed part of

4134-547: The primary shuttle contractors should review all Criticality 1, 1R, 2, and 2R items and hazard analyses. Recommendation IV – NASA should establish an Office of Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance to be headed by an Associate Administrator, reporting directly to the NASA Administrator. Recommendation VI – NASA must take actions to improve landing safety. The tire, brake and nosewheel system must be improved. Recommendation VII – Make all efforts to provide

4212-577: The program budget: for example, during fiscal years 2004 to 2006, NASA spent around $ 13 billion on the Space Shuttle program, even though the fleet was grounded in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster and there were a total of three launches during this period of time. In fiscal year 2009, NASA budget allocated $ 2.98 billion for 5 launches to the program, including $ 490 million for "program integration", $ 1.03 billion for "flight and ground operations", and $ 1.46 billion for "flight hardware" (which includes maintenance of orbiters, engines, and

4290-448: The program was grounded once again for this reason. The second "Return to Flight" mission, STS-121 launched on July 4, 2006, at 14:37 (EDT). Two previous launches were scrubbed because of lingering thunderstorms and high winds around the launch pad, and the launch took place despite objections from its chief engineer and safety head. A five-inch (13 cm) crack in the foam insulation of the external tank gave cause for concern; however,

4368-501: The regular crew. Some passenger modules used hardware similar to existing equipment, such as the tunnel, which was also needed for Spacehab and Spacelab During the three decades of operation, various follow-on and replacements for the STS Space Shuttle were partially developed but not finished. Examples of possible future space vehicles to supplement or supplant STS: One effort in the direction of space transportation

4446-549: The remaining flights, the Shuttle always orbit with the station. Prior to STS-114, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe declared that all future flights of the Space Shuttle would go to the ISS, precluding the possibility of executing the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission which had been scheduled before the Columbia accident, despite the fact that millions of dollars worth of upgrade equipment for Hubble were ready and waiting in NASA warehouses. Many dissenters, including astronauts , asked NASA management to reconsider allowing

4524-459: The second, Orbital Sciences 's Cygnus did so in 2014. The Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program was initiated in 2010 with the purpose of creating commercially operated crewed spacecraft capable of delivering at least four crew members to the ISS, staying docked for 180 days and then returning them back to Earth. These spacecraft, like SpaceX 's Dragon 2 and Boeing CST-100 Starliner were expected to become operational around 2020. On

4602-439: The shuttles were over 150 launches over a 15-year operational span with a 'launch per month' expected at the peak of the program, but extensive delays in the development of the International Space Station never created such a peak demand for frequent flights. Various shuttle concepts had been explored since the late 1960s. The program formally commenced in 1972, becoming the sole focus of NASA's human spaceflight operations after

4680-563: The spacecraft to its high orbit. Chandra has been returning data since the month after it launched. It is operated by the SAO at the Chandra X-ray Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts , with assistance from MIT and Northrop Grumman Space Technology. The ACIS CCDs suffered particle damage during early radiation belt passages. To prevent further damage, the instrument is now removed from the telescope's focal plane during passages. Although Chandra

4758-587: The telescope is pointed. Other navigation and orientation systems on board CXO include an aspect camera, Earth and Sun sensors , and reaction wheels . It also has two sets of thrusters, one for movement and another for offloading momentum. The Science Instrument Module (SIM) holds the two focal plane instruments, the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) and the High Resolution Camera (HRC), moving whichever

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4836-479: The two telescopes have different design foci, as Chandra has a much higher angular resolution and XMM-Newton higher spectroscopy throughput. In response to a decrease in NASA funding in 2024 by the US Congress , Chandra is threatened with an early cancellation despite having more than a decade of operation left. The cancellation has been referred to as a potential "extinction-level" event for X-ray astronomy in

4914-582: The use of Vandenberg AFB for space shuttle missions was canceled after the Challenger disaster in 1986. The weather criteria used for launch included, but were not limited to: precipitation, temperatures, cloud cover, lightning forecast, wind, and humidity. The Shuttle was not launched under conditions where it could have been struck by lightning . The first fully functional orbiter was Columbia (designated OV-102), built in Palmdale, California . It

4992-489: Was STS-80 lasting 17 days, 15 hours. The final flight of the Space Shuttle program was STS-135 on July 8, 2011. Since the Shuttle's retirement in 2011, many of its original duties are performed by an assortment of government and private vessels. The European ATV Automated Transfer Vehicle supplied the ISS between 2008 and 2015. Classified military missions are being flown by the US Air Force's uncrewed spaceplane ,

5070-455: Was $ 141 million, or $ 6,721 per kilogram ($ 3,049 per pound) to LEO and the Soyuz 2.1 was $ 55 million, or $ 6,665 per kilogram ($ 3,023 per pound), despite these launch vehicles not being reusable. NASA's budget for 2005 allocated 30%, or $ 5 billion, to space shuttle operations; this was decreased in 2006 to a request of $ 4.3 billion. Non-launch costs account for a significant part of

5148-452: Was announced in January 2004. President George W. Bush announced his Vision for Space Exploration , which called for the retirement of the Space Shuttle once it completed construction of the ISS. To ensure the ISS was properly assembled, the contributing partners determined the need for 16 remaining assembly missions in March 2006. One additional Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission

5226-467: Was approved in October 2006. Originally, STS-134 was to be the final Space Shuttle mission. However, the Columbia disaster resulted in additional orbiters being prepared for launch on need in the event of a rescue mission. As Atlantis was prepared for the final launch-on-need mission, the decision was made in September 2010 that it would fly as STS-135 with a four-person crew that could remain at

5304-539: Was assembled and tested by TRW (now Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems) in Redondo Beach , California . AXAF was renamed Chandra as part of a contest held by NASA in 1998, which drew more than 6,000 submissions worldwide. The contest winners, Jatila van der Veen and Tyrel Johnson (then a high school teacher and high school student, respectively), suggested the name in honor of Nobel Prize–winning Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar . He

5382-482: Was based on the Spacelab habitation modules, which provided 32 seats in the payload bay in addition to those in the cockpit area. There were some efforts to analyze commercial operation of STS. Using the NASA figure for average cost to launch a Space Shuttle as of 2011 at about $ 450 million per mission, a cost per seat for a 74 seat module envisioned by Rockwell came to less than $ 6 million, not including

5460-547: Was cancelled in 2002, and the HL-20 was cancelled in 1993. Several other programs in this existed such as the Station Crew Return Alternative Module (SCRAM) and Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) According to the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration, the next human NASA program was to be Constellation program with its Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and the Orion spacecraft ; however,

5538-402: Was complete, the orbiter would reenter the Earth's atmosphere and land like a glider at either the Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force Base . The Shuttle is the only winged crewed spacecraft to have achieved orbit and landing, and the first reusable crewed space vehicle that made multiple flights into orbit. Its missions involved carrying large payloads to various orbits including

5616-461: Was delivered to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on March 25, 1979, and was first launched on April 12, 1981—the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin 's space flight —with a crew of two. Challenger (OV-099) was delivered to KSC in July 1982, Discovery (OV-103) in November 1983, Atlantis (OV-104) in April 1985 and Endeavour (OV-105) in May 1991. Challenger was originally built and used as

5694-453: Was deployed by Cady Coleman from Columbia at 11:47 UTC. The Inertial Upper Stage's first stage motor ignited at 12:48 UTC, and after burning for 125 seconds and separating, the second stage ignited at 12:51 UTC and burned for 117 seconds. At 22,753 kilograms (50,162 lb), it was the heaviest payload ever launched by the shuttle, a consequence of the two-stage Inertial Upper Stage booster rocket system needed to transport

5772-817: Was evolved into two programs, the Orbital Space Plane Program and the Next Generation Launch Technology program. OSP was oriented towards provided access to the International Space Station. Other vehicles that would have taken over some of the Shuttles responsibilities were the HL-20 Personnel Launch System or the NASA X-38 of the Crew Return Vehicle program, which were primarily for getting people down from ISS. The X-38

5850-402: Was initially given an expected lifetime of 5 years, on September 4, 2001, NASA extended its lifetime to 10 years "based on the observatory's outstanding results." Physically Chandra could last much longer. A 2004 study performed at the Chandra X-ray Center indicated that the observatory could last at least 15 years. It is active as of 2024 and has an upcoming schedule of observations published by

5928-599: Was made in the form of the DC-3 , designed by Maxime Faget , who had designed the Mercury capsule among other vehicles. Numerous offerings from a variety of commercial companies were also offered but generally fell by the wayside as each NASA lab pushed for its own version. All of this was taking place in the midst of other NASA teams proposing a wide variety of post-Apollo missions, a number of which would cost as much as Apollo or more. As each of these projects fought for funding,

6006-517: Was redesigned. Four of the twelve planned mirrors were eliminated, as were two of the six scientific instruments. AXAF's planned orbit was changed to an elliptical one, reaching one third of the way to the Moon's at its farthest point. This eliminated the possibility of improvement or repair by the Space Shuttle but put the observatory above the Earth's radiation belts for most of its orbit. AXAF

6084-635: Was the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program, initiated in 1994 by NASA. This led to work on the X-33 and X-34 vehicles. NASA spent about US$ 1 billion on developing the X-33 hoping for it be in operation by 2005. Another program around the turn of the millennium was the Space Launch Initiative , which was a next generation launch initiative. The Space Launch Initiative program was started in 2001, and in late 2002 it

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