Space Shuttle program - List of space shuttles
The Space Shuttle program operated a total of five space shuttles, including Challenger and Columbia. Here is a list of all the space shuttles:
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Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102): The first shuttle to fly into space, Columbia completed its maiden flight on April 12, 1981. It was tragically lost during the STS-107 mission in 2003. This is the shuttle in which Kalpana Chawla was killed.
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Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099): Challenger was the second shuttle to enter service and made its first flight on April 4, 1983. It was lost in the STS-51-L disaster in 1986. All crew members were killed in the accident.
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Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103): Discovery was the third shuttle to be built and flew its first mission on August 30, 1984. It had a successful operational history and completed its final mission in 2011.
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Space Shuttle Atlantis (OV-104): Atlantis made its debut on October 3, 1985, and became the fourth operational shuttle. It flew numerous missions, including the final shuttle mission (STS-135) in 2011.
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Space Shuttle Endeavour (OV-105): Endeavour was the last space shuttle to be constructed and first flew on May 7, 1992. It flew missions until the end of the program and was used to complete the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS).
After the Space Shuttle program was retired in 2011, the shuttles were placed in museums for public display. Discovery is at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Atlantis is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, and Endeavour is housed at the California Science Center.
Currently (as of 2023) NASA is using SpaceX's dragon and falcon-9 to send crew to Space Stations. On 25 August 2023, crew 7 mission sent 4 crew members to ISS - International Space Station.