What are the names of the Space Shuttle orbiters?
A. Their names, in the order they were built, are Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. The Enterprise was flown only within Earth’s atmosphere, during Shuttle approach and landing tests conducted in 1977. Columbia flew the first five Shuttle missions, beginning in April 1981, and was modified to fly extended duration missions as long as 16 days. Challenger was built as a vibration test vehicle and then upgraded to become the second operational Shuttle. The Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost in a launch accident on January 28, 1986. Discovery made her first flight in August 1984, and Atlantis followed in October 1985. Endeavour, built to replace Challenger, made its debut in May 1992 with a dramatic mission that featured the rescue of a stranded Intelsat 6 commercial communications satellite.
A. Their names, in the order they were built, are Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. The Enterprise was flown only within Earth’s atmosphere, during Shuttle approach and landing tests conducted in 1977. Columbia flew the first five Shuttle missions, beginning in April 1981, and was modified to fly extended-duration missions as long as 16 days. Columbia and its seven-member crew were lost during reentry on Feb. 1, 2003. Challenger was built as a vibration-test vehicle and then upgraded to become the second operational Shuttle. The Challenger and its seven-member crew were lost in a launch accident on Jan. 28, 1986. Discovery made its first flight in August 1984, and Atlantis followed in October 1985. Endeavour, built to replace Challenger, made its debut in May 1992 with a dramatic mission that featured the rescue of a stranded Intelsat 6 commercial communications satellite. The link below will take you to the NASA Orbiter Fleet site providing descript
Their names, in the order they were built, are Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. The Enterprise was flown only within Earth’s atmosphere, during Shuttle approach and landing tests conducted in 1977. Columbia flew the first five Shuttle missions, beginning in April 1981, and was modified to fly extended duration missions as long as 16 days. Challenger was built as a vibration test vehicle and then upgraded to become the second operational Shuttle. The Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost in a launch accident on January 28, 1986. Discovery made her first flight in August 1984, and Atlantis followed in October 1985. Endeavour, built to replace Challenger, made its debut in May 1992 with a dramatic mission that featured the rescue of a stranded Intelsat 6 commercial communications satellite.
