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NASA's Space Shuttle program is an ongoing endeavor, started in the late 1960s, that has created the world's first partially reusable space launch system, and the first spacecraft capable of carrying large satellites both to and from low Earth orbit. Each shuttle is designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches. The original purpose of the program was to ferry supplies to a space station. In reality, the Shuttle is the United States' sole manned launch vehicle and has totally dominated NASA's operations since the mid 1970s. With the construction of the International Space Station the Shuttle has finally begun to be used for its original purpose. In January 2004, it was announced that the Shuttle fleet would be replaced by 2010.

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The result was that the simple DC-3 was clearly out of the picture because it had neither the cargo capacity nor the cross-range the Air Force demanded. In fact all existing designs were far too small, as a 40,000 lbs delivery to polar orbit equates to a 65,000 lbs delivery to a "normal" 28 degree equatorial orbit. In fact any design using simple straight or fold-out wings was not going to meet the cross range requirements, so any future design would require a more complex, heavier delta wing.

Space Shuttle Enterprise
Space Shuttle Enterprise The Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise (NASA Designation: OV-101) was the first Space Shuttle built for NASA. It was initially constructed without engines or a functional heat shield and was therefore not capable of space operations without a refit. It was intended to be the second space shuttle to fly after the Space Shuttle Columbia even though it was built first, however, it was found to be cheaper to refit a test article (STA-099) into the Space Shuttle Challenger. Originally planned to be called Constitution, the test vehicle was renamed following a write-in campaign after the starship featured on the television show Star Trek, which in turn was named for the various ships named USS Enterprise. Amusingly, in one of the subsequent Star Trek movies

Spacelab
Spacelab is a microgravity laboratory flown into space on the Space Shuttle. It consists of a large cylindrical main laboratory that is flown in the rear of the Space Shuttle cargo bay, connected to the crew compartment by a long tube. In April 1973 NASA and the ESA (then known as the ESRO) agreed to build a modular science package. Construction of Spacelab started in 1974 by the ERNO (represented by VFW-Fokker GmbH, later bought by MBB, and since 2003 part of EADS Space Transportation). The first lab, LM1, was given to NASA free of charge in exchange for flight opportunities for european astronauts. A second lab, LM2, was bought by NASA for its own needs. The system also included a system of external pallets for experiments in vacuum, built by