The Energia rocket was designed by NPO Energia to function as both a heavy lifter and carry the spaceplane into orbit.Įnergia was designed to be a two-stage rocket, with the first stage consisting of four RD-170 booster rockets and a core stage of four RD-0120 engines. The Buran program was actually a two-part program, to develop the space plane itself-also named Buran-and a new booster, Energia, that would carry it into space. The Soviet leadership, perhaps buoyed by American confidence in the project, authorized the Buran (“Snowstorm”) program in February 1976. Moscow also had a practical, direct reason to build a reusable space plane: its Salyut series of space stations, and later the Mir space station, would benefit from having an inexpensive transport system capable of resupplying and even expanding the country’s semipermanent outposts in space.īy 1976, the Americans already had two shuttles under construction-the prototype Enterprise and the first fully operational shuttle, Columbia.

The temptation for the Soviet Union to create a shuttle system of its own was too great, and work began in the mid 1970s, before the American spaceplane even flew. The reusable nature of the shuttle program, which had named spaceships that carried out dozens of missions during their lifetimes, was a source of great pride for the United States and an example of American “soft” power. The shuttle was capable of carrying military and civilian payloads into space, acting as a laboratory for science experiments, and ferrying crews and visitors to orbiting space stations. It’s a definitive oral history that captures the importance, wonder, and exhilaration of the Space Shuttle era.The American Space Shuttle program was designed to create a spacecraft that could act as an inexpensive, reusable connector between Earth and low Earth orbit. Space Shuttle Stories focuses on the lived, human experiences of larger-than-life space missions. The Space Shuttle program’s 6 orbiter vehicles (Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour) carried a total of 355 astronauts into orbit on 135 missions aimed at cutting-edge scientific research, satellite launch, retrieval and repair, collaborative work with the Russian Mir station, the launching and servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope, and the construction of the International Space Station. Captivating photographs rarely seen by the public.Data about the mission, crew, launch, landing, duration, and highlights.An astronaut narrative that immerses the readers in their personal mission experience.The book is a major contribution to the historical record of a momentous era of spaceflight. In Space Shuttle Stories, shuttle astronaut Tom Jones interviewed more than 130 fellow astronauts for personal vignettes from each mission, complemented by their written accounts for all 135 space shuttle missions, from Columbia’s maiden flight in 1981 to the final launch of Atlantis in 2011. NASA’s space shuttle was the world’s first reusable spacecraft, accomplishing many firsts and inspiring generations across its 30-year lifespan as America’s iconic spaceship. NASA astronaut Tom Jones discusses and signs copies of his book, “Space Shuttle Stories: Firsthand Astronaut Accounts from All 135 Missions.” In this deep dive into previously unreleased vignettes from astronauts, the book explores the impact, triumphs and challenges of the Space Shuttle program.Ī book signing follows the discussion.

Russian space shuttle copies