The Space Shuttle returned from orbit at around Mach 30, entering the atmosphere fast enough to tear air molecules apart and ...

The view of shuttle Discovery's payload bay from inside the orbiter, with the iconic American flag at the rear. The huge cargo area is 15 feet (4.6 meters) wide and 60 feet (18 m) long. When Discovery ...

The two solid rocket boosters flew in different directions as the external fuel tank became a fireball.(AP: Bruce Weaver / File) Forty years ago, the Challenger space shuttle disintegrated just after ...

NASA has shipped its last space shuttle external propellant tank to California to join the retired orbiter Endeavour on display in Los Angeles. The plan is to mount the winged spaceship vertically on ...

T minus 10 - the acoustic shock absorption system starts - a huge fountain of water cascades from underneath the launch pad. Its role is to absorb the sound waves that come from the exhaust of the ...

A view from above of Atlantis' 60-foot-long payload bay. Atlantis' aft section as viewed from the side. The reflective insulation would normally be covered by one of the shuttle's two orbital ...

NASA Astronaut John Fabian at Kennedy Space Center previewing the last Shuttle mission. July 2011. BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – ...