A fifth operational (and sixth in total) orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. Of these, two were lost in mission accidents: Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, with a total of 14 astronauts killed. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. The first orbiter, Enterprise, was built in 1976 and used in Approach and Landing Tests (ALT), but had no orbital capability. If the landing occurred at Edwards, the orbiter was flown back to the KSC atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a specially modified Boeing 747.

The orbiter was protected during reentry by its thermal protection system tiles, and it glided as a spaceplane to a runway landing, usually to the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC, Florida, or to Rogers Dry Lake in Edwards Air Force Base, California. At the conclusion of the mission, the orbiter fired its OMS to deorbit and reenter the atmosphere.

The SRBs were jettisoned before the vehicle reached orbit, while the main engines continued to operate, and the ET was jettisoned after main engine cutoff and just before orbit insertion, which used the orbiter's two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines. The Space Shuttle was launched vertically, like a conventional rocket, with the two SRBs operating in parallel with the orbiter's three main engines, which were fueled from the ET. Space Shuttle components include the Orbiter Vehicle (OV) with three clustered Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines, a pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and the expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Space Shuttle fleet's total mission time was 1,323 days. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), conducted science experiments in orbit, participated in the Shuttle- Mir program with Russia, and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station (ISS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The first ( STS-1) of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights ( STS-5) beginning in 1982. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Does Houston have any association of people interested in historical transportation services? I’m intending to vet this souvenir through the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, sometime this summer, assuming I can find a “square tuit.” Mainly, I want to be certain it finds a useful home for posterity.The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. The most remarkable thing about the map is that it shows the bus and streetcar lines of the period! This is a particular interest of mine. Obviously it must have been printed on acid-free paper! I would describe the map as being in very good condition for its age. Foster Ashburn (a respected name in local maps for the southwestern states, in my personal recollection). Entitled “Official Street Map and Guide” and distributed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce, the map was produced and copyrighted by J. I have come into possession of a map of Houston, which, although not specifically dated, includes statistics for 1936. proposed streets in red)ġ961 – Railroad and highway Map of Houston (W) 1920 – Street Map of Houston (showing wards)ġ942 – Street map of Houston (inc.

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