The Apollo missions achieved remarkable feats, including landing 12 Americans on the Moon and a further understanding of the lunar surface. However, the program was expensive.

The United States spent $25.8 billion on the Apollo program, adjusting to $257 billion considering inflation in 2020. Public interest was waning as society became accustomed to lunar missions and with improved relations with the Soviet Union, competition was weakened. For these reasons, space budgets were cut and the Apollo program sunsetted after the 6th and final landing on the Moon with Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Approved during Apollo 16, the Space Shuttle Program heralded the next chapter for NASA - a chapter focused on creating a lower cost way to get back into space. Amidst planting the American flag and capturing iconic photographs, John Young and Charlie Duke received the announcement from Mission Control that the U.S. House of Representatives approved of NASA’s budget, ensuring funding for the proposed Space Shuttle Program. Young remarked, “The country needs that Shuttle mighty bad. You’ll see.”

The Design: Three Vehicles in One

Beginning in 1972 the Space Shuttle Program introduced a revolutionary advancement in space transportation: the world’s first reusable spacecraft. Designed to take off like a rocket and land like a plane, it would be launched over and over again, ferrying payloads and personnel to and from Earth orbit.

Formally known as the Space Transportation System (STS), the 60ft long space shuttle comprises an aircraft-like orbiter, two boosters, and a massive external tank. Referred to as ‘the stack’, the 250,000 pound shuttle had to launch at more than 85 football fields per second, with the engine draining a full size swimming pull of fuel in 25 seconds. These engines are regarded as the most intricate rocket engines ever built.

Crafting the space shuttle to ensure its safe return for reuse presented a monumental challenge, particularly given that it was the first of its kind ever built, unlike the disposable Saturn V rockets utilized in the Apollo missions.

The spacecraft, designed to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land safely like planes, required swift innovation to handle the challenge of safely guiding 98 tons of dead weight upon landing. The development was focused on optimizing the wing design for subsonic cruise and landing, leading to the selection of straight, unswept wings similar to World War II fighter planes, with directional stability provided by a tail, akin to conventional aircraft.

Following nine years of development using cutting edge technology, NASA’s space shuttle fleet began setting records with its first launch on April 12, 1981. The U.S. space shuttle fleet was ultimately made up of five shuttles: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.

Unifying America in a Time of Adversity

In the 1970s, with inflation soaring, the Vietnam War raging on, and racial tensions simmering, America was hungry for unity and excitement. The era of the space shuttle came at just the right time. The sight of the sleek, sophisticated shuttles ascending into space became a symbol of national pride, embodying the spirit of American innovation and resilience.

Just weeks after the assassination attempt on the recently inaugurated President Ronald Reagan, Americans were in desperation for hope and unity. In April 1981, Americans of all walks of life were attracted back to the launch pads and TV screens in awe and wonder as they witnessed the first launch of Space Shuttle Columbia. Crowds gathered in anticipation as they watched the shuttle pierce the sky.

Like the launch of the Apollo program, NASA seized global attention, representing resilience and perseverance in an era thirsting for heroes and triumphs.

Golden Age of Exploration and Technological Progress

Throughout the span of 1981 to 2011, the space shuttles facilitated a myriad of missions, from launching probes destined for distant planets like Magellan to Venus and Galileo to Jupiter, to deploying the iconic Hubble Telescope into orbit for servicing and upkeep. Acting as both transport vessels and launch platforms, these shuttles played an indispensable role in catapulting payloads that revolutionized our comprehension of space exploration.

Additionally, the shuttles were vital in the construction of the International Space Station (ISS), being the vehicle that launched many of the components for construction of the space station. One of the pivotal steps in assembling the ISS was the delivery of the S0 Truss Structure by Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2002. This structure, which comprises a set of large solar panels, was installed atop the Destiny module by the shuttle’s crew. The S0 Truss Structure not only provided structural support but also played a crucial role in the ISS’s power generation, highlighting the complexity and precision required in constructing such a monumental space station, all done through the power of the space shuttles.

The Shuttles Bring Diversity

The space shuttle era brought a significant wave of diversity to space exploration, with several missions marking historic ‘firsts’.

The famed 1978 Astronaut Class, referred to as the ‘35 new guys,’ was not only the first round of astronauts in 9 years since 1969, but it included the first African-American, first Asian-American, and the first woman astronaut. These astronauts emerged as new space heroes who better represented the diverse tapestry of America.

(2 Oct 1984) Astronaut Sally K. Ride, 41-G mission specialist, gets a last look of Houston from the ground prior to departing the area in a T-38 jet aircraft to begin preparations in Florida for her 41-G space mission later in the week. Credit: NASA

The year 1983 brought the first American woman and the first African American to fly into space. Sally Ride, one of the four women of the 1978 class, was an intelligent and determined physicist from California. She served as mission specialist aboard Space Shuttle Challenger during the STS-7 mission. Taking the same shuttle only two months after Ride, Guion Bluford, from Philadelphia, became the first African American in space also serving as mission specialist.

Both Ride and Bluford were extremely proud to be astronauts and were humbled in their historic feats of representing a new diverse group of astronauts. While they expressed a desire not to be solely celebrated based on their gender or ethnicity, their focus remained on being recognized for their achievements in space. Ride once remarked, “I didn’t want to be the woman who had flown in space. I just wanted to be the astronaut who had flown in space.” And Bluford reflects on his time as, “All of us knew that one of us would eventually step into that role (of being the first African American Astronaut in space). I probably told people that I would probably prefer not being in that role... because I figured being the number 2 guy would probably be a lot more fun.”

Other achievements that the space shuttles brought were the first Asian American, Ellison Onizuka, and first civilian in space. Also prioritizing the historic importance of the space shuttles in terms of the technological advancements over his racial background, Onizuka claimed “There are a lot of outcomes from these projects that will affect both our society and the rest of our world.” Known for his national pride, and more specifically his pride for hometown state of Hawaii, Onizuka was intelligent and hardworking. After the success of the Discovery Space Shuttle flight, Onizuka was chosen to once again represent America on the Space Shuttle Challenger mission.

A diverse array of individuals from various walks of life, backgrounds, and regions joined this shuttle flight. As part of President Ronald Reagan’s Teacher in Space Project, Christa McAuliffe, an elementary school teacher, was chosen to become the first civilian in space, where she would talk with students from orbit.

On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger launched. Tragically, just 73 seconds after liftoff at 11:39 a.m., the orbiter exploded, claiming the lives of the 7 individuals. This explosion emerged as one of the defining events of the ‘80s, as billions around the world watched the tragedy unfold on television, ensuing a deep sense of empathy for the crew members who lost their lives.

Putting on the Brakes

The Challenger disaster of 1986 continues to stand as a stark reminder of the risks and uncertainties inherent in space exploration. The shuttle broke apart just over one minute into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard and leaving the nation and the space community heartbroken and confused. The aftermath of the failed mission prompted extensive investigations and soul-searching within NASA and the broader space industry, leading to sweeping changes in safety protocols and mission procedures.

Seventeen years later, tragedy struck again with the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003. The disintegration of Space Shuttle Columbia during re-entry shocked the nation claimed the lives of all seven astronauts on board. The disaster bore haunting similarities to the Challenger tragedy, raising questions about the safety and reliability of the overall space shuttle fleet.

In 2004, President George W. Bush pledged to complete its work on the International Space Station by 2010, returning the space shuttles to flight consistent with safety concerns and the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Upon completion of the ISS, Bush promised to retire the Space Shuttle Program by the end of the decade, and to replace it with Constellation, a new U.S. crewed spaceflight program that was scheduled to carry astronauts to the ISS beginning in 2015.

Although the Constellation program experienced initial progress, such as the successful test flight of Ares I in 2009—a crew launch vehicle utilizing reusable solid rocket boosters derived from the Space Shuttle’s four-segment booster—it encountered scrutiny and budgetary challenges. In February 2010, the program was canceled by the Obama administration in favor of alternative approaches to U.S. crewed spaceflight, emphasizing commercial partnerships and cost reduction initiatives.The cancellation of the program left the U.S. without a vehicle to transport American astronauts to the space station. Consequently, the nation had to depend on Russia’s rockets, marking the end of an era in American spaceflight.

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