Have you wanted to know what's inside a gift wrapped box? For centuries, people have felt that same curiosity towards space. Even before rockets and spaceships, people have dreamed about exploring and flying into space. Now with modern technology, this dream has become a reality. #An example is NASA's Space Shuttle program, which is an ongoing endeavor, started in the early 1970s, that had created the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft capable of carrying large satellites both to and from (low) Earth orbit. .
Born in 1968 at the height of the Apollo program, the Space Shuttle was designed to fulfill two basic roles in NASA post-Apollo manned flight objectives. The first goal of the Space Shuttle program was to provide NASA with an efficient, re-usable method of carrying astronauts to and from a permanently manned space station. At the time, NASA envisioned a space station which would be staffed by 12 to 24 people. The space station was intended to assure a permanent manned U.S. presence in space following the Apollo lunar landings. The space station would support scientific research objectives, plus act as an engineering and support base for manned journeys to the planets. In addition, NASA believed that Space Shuttles could serve as multi-purpose satellite delivery vehicles with the potential to completely replace Atlas-Centaur, Delta and Titan rockets.
Unlike other spacecrafts that are used only once, each space shuttle can make up to one hundred flights into space. Its goal is to provide cheap rides to space for people and cargo. Of course, history would prove otherwise. That was one of the first priorities NASA had in mind when they made the design for the shuttle. The first rockets built for space were expensive and only one-thirtieth of the parts were ever returned to Earth. In reality, many changes have been made to the first concept of the Space Shuttle At first NASA's planned concept for the Space Shuttle called for a smaller manned winged vehicle to sit on top a larger manned winged vehicle.
