The Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was a crewed, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraf toperated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its official program name was Space Transportation System, taken from a 1969 plan fora system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development The first of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights beginning in 1982. It was used on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and theHubble Space Telescope (HST); conducted science experiments in orbit; and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station.

Shuttle components included the Orbiter Vehicle (OV), a pair of recoverable Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB), and an expendable External Tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Shuttle was launched vertically like a conventional rocket with the two SRBs operating in parallel with the OV's three main engines, which were fueled from the External Tank. The SRBs were jettisoned before the vehicle reached orbit, and the ET was jettisoned just before orbit insertion using the orbiter's two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines. At the conclusion of the mission, the orbiter fired its OMS to drop out of orbit and re-enter the atmosphere. The orbiter glided to a runway landing on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base in California, or at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the KSC. After Edwards landings, the orbiter was flown back to KSC on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a specially modified Boeing 747.

The first orbiter, Enterprise, was built purely for Approach and Landing Tests and had no capability to fly into orbit. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built:Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Of these, Challenger and Columbiawere lost in mission accidents in 1986 and 2003 respectively, in which a total of fourteen astronauts were killed. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion of Atlantis' final flight on July 21, 2011.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 with a distinctly civilian (rather than military) orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The agency became operational on October 1, 1958.

Since that time, most U.S. space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and Commercial Crew vehicles. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program (LSP) which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches. Most recently, NASA announced a new Space Launch System that it said would take the agency's astronauts farther into space than ever before and provide the cornerstone for future human space exploration efforts by the U.S.

NASA science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System, advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program,exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic missions such as New Horizons, and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs NASA shares data with various national and international organizations such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite.

IMPROVE YOUR KNOWLEDGE ..

* THE FIRST EFFECT OF NOISE IS ................?
          ANXIETY AND STRESS REACTIONS.
* 'THE VALLEY OF FLOWERS, IS FOUND IN.......................?
       NORTH -WESTERN HIMALAYAS
* THE LARGEST GROUP OF PLANT IS......................?
       TRACHEOTOMY 
* AN EDIBLE RED ALGA IS..................................?
       PORPHYRY
* THE SMALLEST MAMMAL IS ............................?
    WATER SHREW.
* FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS ARE.........................?
                A,D,E,K 
* VITAMIN WHICH IS DESTROYED ON HEATING IS .........?
        VITAMIN C
* TOBACCO SMOKING ORIGINATED FROM .......?
       AMERICA
* THE PERCENTAGE OF TANNIN IN TEA LEAVES IS .....?
             18%
NUMBER OF BONES IN FACE ....................?
                   14