Fleet History
Below is a list of major events in the Space Shuttle orbiter fleet.
| Date | Orbiter | Major event / remarks |
|---|---|---|
| September 17, 1976 | Enterprise | Prototype Space Shuttle Enterprise was rolled out of its assembly facility in Southern California and displayed before a crowd several thousand strong. |
| February 18, 1977 | Enterprise | First flight; Attached to Shuttle Carrier Aircraft throughout flight. |
| August 12, 1977 | Enterprise | First free flight; Tailcone on; lakebed landing. |
| October 26, 1977 | Enterprise | Final Enterprise free flight; First landing on Edwards AFB concrete runway. |
| April 12, 1981 | Columbia | First Columbia flight, first orbital test flight; STS-1 |
| November 11, 1982 | Columbia | First operational flight of the Space Shuttle, first mission to carry four astronauts; STS-5 |
| April 4, 1983 | Challenger | First Challenger flight; STS-6 |
| August 30, 1984 | Discovery | First Discovery flight; STS-41-D |
| October 3, 1985 | Atlantis | First Atlantis flight; STS-51-J |
| October 30, 1985 | Challenger | First crew of eight astronauts; STS-61-A |
| January 28, 1986 | Challenger | Disaster starting 73 seconds after launch; STS-51-L; all seven crew members died. |
| September 29, 1988 | Discovery | First post-Challenger mission; STS-26 |
| May 4, 1989 | Atlantis | The first Space Shuttle mission to launch a space probe, Magellan; STS-30 |
| April 24, 1990 | Discovery | Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope; STS-31 |
| May 7, 1992 | Endeavour | First Endeavour flight; STS-49 |
| November 19, 1996 | Columbia | Longest Shuttle mission at 17 days, 15 hours; STS-80 |
| December 4, 1998 | Endeavour | First ISS mission; STS-88 |
| February 1, 2003 | Columbia | Disintegrated during re-entry; STS-107; all seven crew members died. |
| July 25, 2005 | Discovery | First post-Columbia mission; STS-114 |
| February 24, 2011 | Discovery | Last Discovery flight; STS-133 |
| May 16, 2011 | Endeavour | Last Endeavour mission; STS-134 |
| July 8, 2011 | Atlantis | Last Atlantis flight and last Space Shuttle flight; STS-135 |
Sources: NASA launch manifest, NASA Space Shuttle archive
Read more about this topic: Space Shuttle
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“Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
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