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Essay Archive - The Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle
The shuttle, a manned, multipurpose, orbital-launch space plane, was designed to
carry payloads of up to about 30,000 kg (65,000 lb) and up to seven crew members
and passengers. The upper part of the spacecraft, the orbiter stage, had a
theoretical lifetime of perhaps 100 missions, and the winged orbiter could make
unpowered landings on returning to earth. Because of the shuttle's designed
flexibility and its planned use for satellite deployment and the rescue and
repair of previously orbited satellites, its proponents saw it as a major
advance in the practical exploitation of space. ....
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