Rocket file · LV-493
Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle is a reusable launch vehicle built by National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It stands 56.1 m tall, lifts 27,500 kg to low Earth orbit, first flew on 12 April 1981. It has flown 135 times with 133 successes, a success rate of 98.5%.
Specification
Vehicle spec sheet
As listed by Launch Library 2. The cost is Launch Library’s figure, not a quoted price. Figures for rockets outside the sixty most-flown were last read on 2026-11-05.
Flight record
Reliability
About Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.
Upcoming flights
Manifest
We couldn't load the scheduled Space Shuttle flights just now. The Scheduled count under Flight record still shows how many there are.
All upcoming launchesSpace Shuttle in the archive
From NASA's public image library and Wikimedia Commons. Each photo shows the credit its licence asks for and links back to where it came from.
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Common questions
- How many times has Space Shuttle flown?
- 135 times, with 133 successes and 2 failures.
- What is Space Shuttle's success rate?
- 98.5%. That's 133 successful flights out of 135 attempts.
- How much can Space Shuttle lift to orbit?
- Launch Library 2 lists Space Shuttle at 27,500 kg to low Earth orbit.
- Is Space Shuttle reusable?
- Yes. Launch Library 2 lists Space Shuttle as reusable. On most reusable rockets that's the first stage, not the whole rocket.