Space Shuttle
Ed Diment, Annie Diment and their colleagues, OptimalControl and Euphonica, built this 1:37 scale model of the Space Shuttle Discovery for display at the National Space Center in Leicester, U.K. The model shows the shuttle's external tank and two solid rocket boosters.
NASA's space shuttle program launched on April 12, 1981 as Shuttle Columbia took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle program's spacecraft were the first reusable space-planes in orbit, and astronauts took the first space walk during Shuttle Columbia.
For astronauts, weightlessness and the tight living conditions were among the biggest challenges.
While in orbit, astronauts are in a constant free fall around Earth. They can't sit, pour a glass of water or use the bathroom the way you would at home.
"The bottom line is that things float," Discovery astronaut Dan Bursch said.
And then there's the tight living quarters. "It's like a family trip and never getting out of the Winnebago for six months," Bursch said.
During its 30-year run, the program carried astronauts to space; put satellites into orbit; recovered and repaired satellites; and helped build the International Space Station, the largest structure in space. The shuttles orbited the Earth almost 21,000 times and spent more than 1,320 days in space.
The five spacecraft, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavor and Atlantis, flew a total of 135 missions between 1981 and July 21, 2011, when Atlantis completed the program's final mission after landing at Kennedy Space Center.
The total cost of the shuttle program was $113.7 billion (not adjusted for inflation).
Images: 1) Optimal Control / Flickr. 2) Space Shuttle Discovery heads toward the International Space Station. NASA / Wikipedia.
Video: Vinciverse / Youtube.