The Space Shuttle -

The Shuttle system consisted of three primary components that worked together for launch:

: Known for carrying the first American woman and African American into space; destroyed 73 seconds after liftoff in 1986.

: Flew the final mission of the program (STS-135) in July 2011. The Space Shuttle

: A prototype used for atmospheric flight tests; it never flew in space but is currently on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. How It Worked

: The "workhorse" of the fleet, it flew 39 missions, including the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. The Shuttle system consisted of three primary components

The Space Shuttle, officially known as the , was the world’s first partially reusable spacecraft, operating from 1981 to 2011. Over 30 years, the program flew 135 missions , launched 355 people from 16 countries, and traveled more than 542 million miles.

: Built as a replacement for Challenger, it completed 25 missions, including the first service mission for Hubble. How It Worked : The "workhorse" of the

40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Enterprise rolls to the Pad - NASA