Launch of Space Shuttle Columbia on 12 April 1981 at Pad 39A for mission STS-1

The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development.^[1] Operational missions launched numerous satellites, conducted science experiments in orbit, and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station (ISS). The first of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights beginning in 1982.

From 1981 to 2011 a total of 135 missions were flown, all launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. During that time period the fleet logged 1,322 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds of flight time.^[2] The longest orbital flight of the Shuttle was STS-80 at 17 days 15 hours, while the shortest flight was STS-51-L at one minute 13 seconds when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart during launch. The cold morning shrunk an O-Ring on the right Solid Rocket Booster causing the external fuel tank to explode. The shuttles docked with Russian space station Mir nine times and visited the ISS thirty-seven times. The highest altitude (apogee) achieved by the shuttle was 621 km (386 mi) when deploying the Hubble Space Telescope.^[3] The program flew a total of 355 people representing 16 countries, and with 852 total shuttle fliers.^[4] The Kennedy Space Center served as the landing site for 78 missions, while 54 missions landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California and one mission landed at White Sands, New Mexico.^[5]

The first orbiter built, Enterprise, was used for atmospheric flight tests (ALT) but future plans to upgrade it to orbital capability were ultimately canceled. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Challenger and Columbia were destroyed in mission accidents in 1986 and 2003 respectively, killing a total of fourteen astronauts. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion of STS-135 by Atlantis on 21 July 2011.^[6]

Flight numbering

Profiles of all five orbiters at launch.

The U.S. Space Shuttle program was officially referred to as the Space Transportation System (STS). Specific shuttle missions were therefore designated with the prefix "STS".^[2] Initially, the launches were given sequential numbers indicating order of launch, such as STS-7. Subsequent to the Apollo 13 mishap, due to Administrator of NASA James M. Beggs's triskaidekaphobia and consequent unwillingness to number a forthcoming flight as STS-13,^{[7][8][9][10]} beginning in 1984, each mission was assigned a code, such as STS-41-B, with the first digit (or pair of digits for years 1990 and beyond) indicating the federal fiscal year offset into the program (so 41-B was scheduled for FY 1984, 51-A thru 51-L originally for FY 1985, and the third flight in FY 1995 would have been named 151-C), the second digit indicating the launch site (1 was Kennedy Space Center and 2 was Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, although Vandenberg was never used), and the letter indicating scheduling sequence.^[11] These codes were assigned when the launches were initially scheduled and were not changed as missions were delayed or rescheduled.^[6] The codes were adopted from STS-41-B through STS-51-L (although the highest code used was actually STS-61-C), and the sequential numbers were used internally at NASA on all processing paperwork.

After the Challenger disaster, NASA returned to using a sequential numbering system, with the number counting from the beginning of the STS program. Unlike the initial system, however, the numbers were assigned based on the initial mission schedule, and did not always reflect actual launch order. This numbering scheme started at 26, with the first flight as STS-26R—the R suffix stood for "reflight" to disambiguate from prior missions. The suffix was used for two years through STS-33R, then the R was dropped.^[6] As a result of the changes in systems, flights under different numbering systems could have the same number with one having a letter appended, e.g. flight STS-51 (a mission carried out by Discovery in 1993) was many years after STS-51-A (Discovery's second flight in 1984).^[6] It wasn't until STS-127 in 2009 where the flight numbering system returned to a standard and consistent order.

Shuttle flights

Enterprise on one of its five free-flights during the Approach and Landing Test program

Test flights

Main article: Approach and Landing Tests

The Approach and Landing Test program encompassed 16 separate tests of Enterprise, covering taxi tests, uncrewed and crewed flights on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and finally the free flight tests. The following list includes the free-flight tests, durations listed count only the orbiter free-flight time. The list does not include total time aloft along with airborne time atop of the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA).

Order	Launch date	Mission	Shuttle	Crew	Duration	Launch Pad	Landing site	Notes	Sources
1	12 August 1977	ALT-12	Enterprise	2	00 h 05 m	N/A	Edwards	First free flight First non-captive flight of Enterprise First landing at Edwards Air Force Base	[12][13][14][15]
2	13 September 1977	ALT-13	Enterprise	2	00 h 05 m		Edwards	Second free flight	[12][13]
3	23 September 1977	ALT-14	Enterprise	2	00 h 05 m		Edwards	Third free flight	[12][13]
4	12 October 1977	ALT-15	Enterprise	2	00 h 02 m		Edwards	Fourth free flight First flight without tailcone (operational configuration)	[12][13][15][16]
5	26 October 1977	ALT-16	Enterprise	2	00 h 02 m		Edwards	Final free flight Final non-captive flight of Enterprise First landing on runway rather than lakebed	[12][13][17]

Launches and orbital flights

Order	Launch date	Mission	Shuttle	Crew[lower-alpha 1]	Duration	Launch Pad	Landing Site	Notes	Sources
1	12 April 1981 12:00:04 UTC 07:00:04 EST	STS-1	Columbia	2	02d 06h	LC-39A	Edwards	First reusable orbital spacecraft flight Maiden flight of Columbia	[18][19][20]
2	12 November 1981 15:10:00 UTC 10:10:00 EST	STS-2	Columbia	2	02d 06h	LC-39A	Edwards	First reuse of a crewed orbital space vehicle First test of Canadarm robot arm Truncated due to fuel cell problem Shortest orbital mission flown	[21][22][23]
3	22 March 1982 16:00:00 UTC 11:00:00 EST	STS-3	Columbia	2	08d 00h	LC-39A	White Sands	Shuttle R&D flight Only landing at White Sands, New Mexico	[24][25][26]
4	27 June 1982 15:00:00 UTC 11:00:00 EDT	STS-4	Columbia	2	07d 01h	LC-39A	Edwards	Last shuttle R&D flight First Department of Defense (DoD) payload	[27][28][29][30]
5	11 November 1982 12:19:00 UTC 07:19:00 EST	STS-5	Columbia	4	05d 02h	LC-39A	Edwards	Multiple comsat deployments First Extravehicular activity of program canceled due to suit problems	[31][32][33][34]
6	4 April 1983 18:30:00 UTC 13:30:00 EST	STS-6	Challenger	4	05d 00h	LC-39A	Edwards	Tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS-A) deployment Maiden flight of Challenger First Space Shuttle Extravehicular activity	[35][36]
7	18 June 1983 11:33:00 UTC 07:33:00 EDT	STS-7	Challenger	5	06d 02h	LC-39A	Edwards	First American woman in space, Sally Ride Multiple comsat deployments First deployment and retrieval of a Shuttle pallet satellite	[37][38]
8	30 August 1983 06:32:00 UTC 02:32:00 EDT	STS-8	Challenger	5	06d 01h	LC-39A	Edwards	Comsat deployment First flight of an African American in space, Guion Bluford Test of robot arm on heavy payloads with Payload Flight Test Article First night landing	[39][40]
9	28 November 1983 16:00:00 UTC 11:00:00 EST	STS-9	Columbia	6	10d 07h	LC-39A	Edwards	First Spacelab mission Flight of Ulf Merbold First European Space Agency Astronaut on a shuttle mission	[41][42]
10	3 February 1984 13:00:00 UTC 08:00:00 EST	STS-41-B	Challenger	5	07d 23h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Deployed two Comsats First untethered spacewalk by Bruce McCandless II with Manned Maneuvering Unit First landing at Kennedy Space Center Dry run of equipment for Solar Maximum Mission rescue	[43][44]
11	6 April 1984 13:58:00 UTC 08:58:00 EST	STS-41-C	Challenger	5	06d 23h	LC-39A	Edwards	Solar Maximum Mission servicing First satellite rescue by astronauts Long Duration Exposure Facility deployment	[45][46][47]
12	30 August 1984 12:41:50 UTC 08:41:50 EDT	STS-41-D	Discovery	6	06d 00h	LC-39A	Edwards	Multiple comsat deployments Maiden flight of Discovery Test of OAST-1 Solar Array	[48][49]
13	5 October 1984 11:03:00 UTC 07:03:00 EDT	STS-41-G	Challenger	7	08d 05h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Earth Radiation Budget Satellite deployment First flight of two women in space, Sally Ride and Kathryn Sullivan First spacewalk by American woman, Sullivan First Canadian in space, Marc Garneau	[50][51]
14	8 November 1984 12:15:00 UTC 07:15:00 EST	STS-51-A	Discovery	5	07d 23h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Multiple comsat deployments Retrieval of two other comsats (Palapa B2 and Westar VI), which were subsequently refurbished on Earth and reflown	[52][53]
15	24 January 1985 19:50:00 UTC 14:50:00 EST	STS-51-C	Discovery	5	03d 01h	LC-39A	Kennedy	First classified Department of Defense (DoD) mission Magnum satellite deployment	[28][54][55]
16	12 April 1985 13:59:05 UTC 08:59:05 EST	STS-51-D	Discovery	7	06d 23h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Multiple comsat deployments First flight of a sitting politician in space, Jake Garn First impromptu Extravehicular activity of program to fix Syncom F3 (Leasat 3)	[56][57]
17	29 April 1985 16:02:18 UTC 12:02:18 EDT	STS-51-B	Challenger	7	07d 00h	LC-39A	Edwards	First mission with Spacelab module in a fully operational configuration Conducted experiments in microgravity	[58][59]
18	17 June 1985 11:33:00 UTC 07:33:00 EDT	STS-51-G	Discovery	7	07d 01h	LC-39A	Edwards	Multiple comsat deployments Flight of first member of royalty, Saudi, Muslim, and Arab in space, Sultan bin Salman Al Saud	[60][61]
19	29 July 1985 22:00:00 UTC 18:00:00 EDT	STS-51-F	Challenger	7	07d 22h	LC-39A	Edwards	Spacelab mission Abort to Orbit. Faulty temperature sensor incorrectly indicated that fuel turbine discharge temperature exceeded the limit. Therefore, one main engine was shut down at T+345 s, resulting in a much lower orbit than planned. All mission objectives achieved	[62][63]
20	27 August 1985 10:58:01 UTC 06:58:01 EDT	STS-51-I	Discovery	5	07d 02h	LC-39A	Edwards	Multiple comsat deployments Rescue of Syncom F3 (Leasat-3)	[64][65]
21	3 October 1985 15:15:30 UTC 11:15:30 EDT	STS-51-J	Atlantis	5	04d 01h	LC-39A	Edwards	Second classified DoD mission Defense Satellite Communications System satellite deployment Maiden flight of Atlantis	[28][66][67]
22	30 October 1985 17:00:00 UTC 12:00:00 EST	STS-61-A	Challenger	8	07d 00h	LC-39A	Edwards	Largest crew on a spaceflight Third flight of Spacelab Spacelab-D1 microgravity experiments Mission funded by West Germany Last successful mission of Challenger First Dutchman in space, Wubbo Ockels	[68][69]
23	26 November 1985 24:29:00 UTC 19:29:00 EST	STS-61-B	Atlantis	7	06d 21h	LC-39A	Edwards	Multiple comsat deployment EASE/ACCESS experiment First Mexican in space, Rodolfo Neri Vela	[70][71]
24	12 January 1986 11:55:00 UTC 06:55:00 EST	STS-61-C	Columbia	7	06d 02h	LC-39A	Edwards	Comsat deployment Flight of US Representative Bill Nelson Last successful mission before STS-51-L	[72][73]
25	28 January 1986 16:38:00 UTC 11:38:00 EST	STS-51-L	Challenger	7	00d 00h 01m 13s	LC-39B	Did not land [lower-alpha 2]	Planned tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS-B) deployment Teacher in space flight SRB leak destroyed the orbiter and killed crew	[74][75]
26	29 September 1988 15:37:00 UTC 11:37:00 EDT	STS-26	Discovery	5	04d 01h	LC-39B	Edwards	Tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS-C) deployment First post-Challenger flight	[76][77]
27	2 December 1988 14:30:34 UTC 09:30:34 EST	STS-27	Atlantis	5	04d 09h	LC-39B	Edwards	Third classified DoD mission Lacrosse 1 deployment Heavy damage to the thermal protection system resulted in extreme heat damage to the right wing	[28][78][79][80]
28	13 March 1989 14:57:00 UTC 09:57:00 EST	STS-29	Discovery	5	04d 23h	LC-39B	Edwards	Tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS-D) deployment IMAX camera Space Station Heat Pipe Advanced Radiator Element I space station radiator experiment	[81][82]
29	4 May 1989 18:46:59 UTC 14:46:59 EDT	STS-30	Atlantis	5	04d 00h	LC-39B	Edwards	Magellan Venus probe deployment	[83][84]
30	8 August 1989 12:37:00 UTC 08:37:00 EDT	STS-28	Columbia	5	05d 01h	LC-39B	Edwards	Fourth classified DoD mission Satellite Data System deployment	[28][85][86]
31	18 October 1989 16:53:40 UTC 12:53:40 EDT	STS-34	Atlantis	5	04d 23h	LC-39B	Edwards	Galileo Jupiter probe deployment IMAX camera	[87][88]
32	22 November 1989 24:23:30 UTC 19:23:30 EST	STS-33	Discovery	5	05d 00h	LC-39B	Edwards	Fifth classified DoD mission Deployment of Magnum	[28][89][90]
33	9 January 1990 12:35:00 UTC 07:35:00 EST	STS-32	Columbia	5	10d 21h	LC-39A	Edwards	Syncom IV-F5 satellite deployment Long Duration Exposure Facility retrieval IMAX camera	[91][92]
34	28 February 1990 07:50:22 UTC 02:50:22 EST	STS-36	Atlantis	5	04d 10h	LC-39A	Edwards	Sixth classified DoD mission Misty reconnaissance satellite deployment	[28][93][94]
35	24 April 1990 12:33:51 UTC 08:33:51 EDT	STS-31	Discovery	5	05d 01h	LC-39B	Edwards	Hubble Space Telescope deployment	[95][96]
36	6 October 1990 11:47:15 UTC 07:47:15 EDT	STS-41	Discovery	5	04d 02h	LC-39B	Edwards	Ulysses/Inertial Upper Stage solar probe deployment	[97][98]
37	15 November 1990 23:48:15 UTC 18:48:15 EST	STS-38	Atlantis	5	04d 21h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Seventh classified DoD mission Likely SDS2-2 deployed	[28][99][100]
38	2 December 1990 06:49:01 UTC 01:49:01 EST	STS-35	Columbia	7	08d 23h	LC-39B	Edwards	Use of ASTRO-1 observatory	[101][102]
39	5 April 1991 14:22:45 UTC 09:22:45 EST	STS-37	Atlantis	5	05d 23h	LC-39B	Edwards	Compton Gamma Ray Observatory deployment and EVA repair	[103][104]
40	28 April 1991 11:33:14 UTC 07:33:14 EDT	STS-39	Discovery	7	08d 07h	LC-39A	Kennedy	First unclassified DoD mission Military science experiments	[28][105][106]
41	5 June 1991 13:24:51 UTC 09:24:51 EDT	STS-40	Columbia	7	09d 02h	LC-39B	Edwards	Spacelab mission	[107][108]
42	2 August 1991 15:02:00 UTC 11:02:00 EDT	STS-43	Atlantis	5	08d 21h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS-E) deployment	[109][110]
43	12 September 1991 23:11:04 UTC 19:11:04 EDT	STS-48	Discovery	5	05d 08h	LC-39A	Edwards	Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite deployment	[111][112]
44	24 November 1991 23:44:00 UTC 18:44:00 EST	STS-44	Atlantis	6	06d 22h	LC-39A	Edwards	DSP satellite deployment	[113][114]
45	22 January 1992 14:52:33 UTC 09:52:33 EST	STS-42	Discovery	7	08d 01h	LC-39A	Edwards	Spacelab mission	[115][116]
46	24 March 1992 13:13:40 UTC 08:13:40 EST	STS-45	Atlantis	7	08d 22h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ATLAS-1 science platform	[117][118]
47	7 May 1992 23:40:00 UTC 19:40:00 EDT	STS-49	Endeavour	7	08d 21h	LC-39B	Edwards	Intelsat VI hand-retrieval and repair Maiden flight of Endeavour First three-person Extravehicular activity Assembly of Station by EVA Methods (ASEM) space station truss experiment EVA Record four EVAs total for mission First landing with a drag chute	[119][120]
48	25 June 1992 16:12:23 UTC 12:12:23 EDT	STS-50	Columbia	7	13d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Spacelab mission	[121][122]
49	31 July 1992 13:56:48 UTC 09:56:48 EDT	STS-46	Atlantis	7	07d 23h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Deployment of EURECA Deployment of National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Italian Space Agency Tethered Satellite System (TSS)	[123][124]
50	12 September 1992 14:23:00 UTC 10:23:00 EDT	STS-47	Endeavour	7	07d 22h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Spacelab-J First flight of an African-American woman in space, Mae Jemison Japan funded mission	[125][126]
51	22 October 1992 17:09:39 UTC 13:09:39 EDT	STS-52	Columbia	6	09d 20h	LC-39B	Kennedy	LAGEOS II deployment Microgravity experiments	[127][128]
52	2 December 1992 13:24:00 UTC 08:24:00 EST	STS-53	Discovery	5	07d 07h	LC-39A	Edwards	Partially classified 10th and final DoD mission Likely deployment of SDS2 satellite	[28][129][130]
53	13 January 1993 13:59:30 UTC 08:59:30 EST	STS-54	Endeavour	5	05d 23h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS-F) deployment	[131][132]
54	8 April 1993 05:29:00 UTC 01:29:00 EDT	STS-56	Discovery	5	09d 06h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ATLAS-2 science platform	[133][134]
55	26 April 1993 14:50:00 UTC 10:50:00 EDT	STS-55	Columbia	7	09d 23h	LC-39A	Edwards	Spacelab-D2 Mission funded by Germany	[135][136]
56	21 June 1993 13:07:22 UTC 09:07:22 EDT	STS-57	Endeavour	6	09d 23h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Scientific Experiments aboard the SPACEHAB module Retrieval of EURECA	[137][138]
57	12 September 1993 11:45:00 UTC 07:45:00 EDT	STS-51	Discovery	5	09d 20h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ACTS satellite deployed Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer with IMAX camera deployed	[139][140]
58	18 October 1993 14:53:10 UTC 10:53:10 EDT	STS-58	Columbia	7	14d 00h	LC-39B	Edwards	Spacelab mission	[141][142]
59	2 December 1993 09:27:00 UTC 04:27:00 EST	STS-61	Endeavour	7	10d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Hubble Space Telescope servicing	[143][144]
60	3 February 1994 12:10:00 UTC 07:10:00 EST	STS-60	Discovery	6	07d 06h	LC-39A	Kennedy	SPACEHAB Wake Shield Facility	[145][146]
61	4 March 1994 13:53:00 UTC 08:53:00 EST	STS-62	Columbia	5	13d 23h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Microgravity experiments	[147][148]
62	9 April 1994 11:05:00 UTC 07:05:00 EDT	STS-59	Endeavour	6	11d 05h	LC-39A	Edwards	Experiments aboard Shuttle Radar Laboratory-1	[149][150]
63	8 July 1994 04:43:00 UTC 00:43:00 EDT	STS-65	Columbia	7	14d 17h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Spacelab mission	[151][152]
64	9 September 1994 22:22:05 UTC 18:22:05 EDT	STS-64	Discovery	6	10d 22h	LC-39B	Edwards	Multiple science experiments SPARTAN	[153][154]
65	30 September 1994 11:16:00 UTC 07:16:00 EDT	STS-68	Endeavour	6	11d 05h	LC-39A	Edwards	Experiments aboard Space Radar Laboratory-2	[155][156]
66	3 November 1994 16:59:43 UTC 11:59:43 EST	STS-66	Atlantis	6	10d 22h	LC-39B	Edwards	ATLAS-3 science platform	[157][158]
67	3 February 1995 05:22:04 UTC 00:22:04 EST	STS-63	Discovery	6	08d 06h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Mir rendezvous SPACEHAB IMAX camera	[159][160]
68	2 March 1995 06:38:13 UTC 01:38:13 EST	STS-67	Endeavour	7	16d 15h	LC-39A	Edwards	ASTRO-2 Deployment	[161][162]
69	27 June 1995 19:32:19 UTC 15:32:19 EDT	STS-71	Atlantis	7/8	09d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	First Shuttle-Mir docking	[163][164]
70	13 July 1995 13:41:55 UTC 09:41:55 EDT	STS-70	Discovery	5	08d 22h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS-G) deployment	[165][166]
71	7 September 1995 15:09:00 UTC 11:09:00 EDT	STS-69	Endeavour	5	10d 20h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Wake Shield Facility SPARTAN	[167][168]
72	20 October 1995 13:53:00 UTC 09:53:00 EDT	STS-73	Columbia	7	15d 21h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Spacelab mission	[169][170]
73	12 November 1995 12:30:43 UTC 07:30:43 EST	STS-74	Atlantis	5	08d 04h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Second Shuttle-Mir docking Delivered docking module Delivered IMAX cargo bay camera	[171][172]
74	11 January 1996 09:41:00 UTC 04:41:00 EST	STS-72	Endeavour	6	08d 22h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Retrieved Japan's Space Flyer Unit 2 Extravehicular activities	[173][174]
75	22 February 1996 20:18:00 UTC 15:18:00 EST	STS-75	Columbia	7	15d 17h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Tethered satellite reflight, lost due to broken tether	[175][176]
76	22 March 1996 08:13:04 UTC 03:13:04 EST	STS-76	Atlantis	6/5	09d 05h	LC-39B	Edwards	Shuttle-Mir docking	[177][178]
77	19 May 1996 10:30:00 UTC 06:30:00 EDT	STS-77	Endeavour	6	10d 00h	LC-39B	Kennedy	SPACEHAB SPARTAN	[179][180]
78	20 June 1996 14:49:00 UTC 10:49:00 EDT	STS-78	Columbia	7	16d 21h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Spacelab mission	[181][182]
79	16 September 1996 08:54:49 UTC 04:54:49 EDT	STS-79	Atlantis	6/6	10d 03h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Shuttle-Mir docking	[183][184]
80	19 November 1996 19:55:47 UTC 14:55:47 EST	STS-80	Columbia	5	17d 15h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Wake Shield Facility Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS) II Longest Space Shuttle mission flown	[185][186]
81	12 January 1997 09:27:23 UTC 04:27:23 EST	STS-81	Atlantis	6/6	10d 04h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Shuttle-Mir docking	[187][188]
82	11 February 1997 08:55:17 UTC 03:55:17 EST	STS-82	Discovery	7	09d 23h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Hubble Space Telescope servicing	[189][190]
83	4 April 1997 19:20:32 UTC 14:20:32 EST	STS-83	Columbia	7	03d 23h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Spacelab mission Truncated due to fuel cell problem	[191][192]
84	15 May 1997 08:07:48 UTC 04:07:48 EDT	STS-84	Atlantis	7/7	09d 05h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Shuttle-Mir docking	[193][194]
85	1 July 1997 18:02:00 UTC 14:02:00 EDT	STS-94	Columbia	7	15d 16h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Spacelab mission	[195][196]
86	7 August 1997 14:41:00 UTC 10:41:00 EDT	STS-85	Discovery	6	11d 20h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Deployed and retrieved Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2 (CRISTA-SPAS)	[197][198]
87	25 September 1997 14:34:19 UTC 10:34:19 EDT	STS-86	Atlantis	7/7	10d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Shuttle-Mir docking	[199][200]
88	19 November 1997 19:46:00 UTC 14:46:00 EST	STS-87	Columbia	6	15d 16h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Microgravity experiments 2 Extravehicular activities SPARTAN First spaceflight by a woman of Indian origin Kalpana Chawla	[201][202]
89	22 January 1998 02:48:15 UTC[lower-alpha 3] 21:48:15 EST	STS-89	Endeavour	7/7	08d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Shuttle-Mir docking	[203][204]
90	17 April 1998 18:19:00 UTC 14:19:00 EDT	STS-90	Columbia	7	15d 21h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Spacelab mission	[205][206]
91	2 June 1998 22:06:24 UTC 18:06:24 EDT	STS-91	Discovery	6/7	09d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Last Shuttle-Mir docking	[207][208]
92	29 October 1998 19:19:34 UTC 14:19:34 EST	STS-95	Discovery	7	08d 21h	LC-39B	Kennedy	SPACEHAB John Glenn flies again	[209][210]
93	4 December 1998 08:35:34 UTC 03:35:34 EST	STS-88	Endeavour	6	11d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 2A: Node 1 First Shuttle ISS assembly flight	[211][212]
94	27 May 1999 10:49:42 UTC 06:49:42 EDT	STS-96	Discovery	7	09d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS supply	[213][214]
95	23 July 1999 04:31:00 UTC 00:31:00 EDT	STS-93	Columbia	5	04d 22h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Chandra X-ray Observatory deployed	[215][216]
96	19 December 1999 00:50:00 UTC[lower-alpha 3] 19:50:00 EST	STS-103	Discovery	7	07d 23h	LC-39B	Kennedy	Hubble Space Telescope servicing	[217][218]
97	11 February 2000 16:43:40 UTC 12:43:40 EDT	STS-99	Endeavour	6	11d 05h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Shuttle Radar Topography Mission	[219][220]
98	19 May 2000 10:11:10 UTC 06:11:10 EDT	STS-101	Atlantis	7	09d 21h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS supply	[221][222]
99	8 September 2000 12:45:47 UTC 08:45:47 EDT	STS-106	Atlantis	7	11d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS supply	[223][224]
100	11 October 2000 23:17:00 UTC 18:17:00 EST	STS-92	Discovery	7	12d 21h	LC-39A	Edwards	ISS assembly flight 3A: Z1 truss	[225][226]
101	30 November 2000 03:06:01 UTC[lower-alpha 3] 22:06:01 EST	STS-97	Endeavour	5	10d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 4A: P6 solar arrays, radiators	[227][228]
102	7 February 2001 23:13:02 UTC 18:13:02 EST	STS-98	Atlantis	5	12d 21h	LC-39A	Edwards	ISS assembly flight 5A: Destiny lab	[229][230]
103	8 March 2001 11:42:09 UTC 06:42:09 EST	STS-102	Discovery	7/7	12d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS supply and crew rotation	[231][232]
104	19 April 2001 18:40:42 UTC 14:40:42 EDT	STS-100	Endeavour	7	11d 21h	LC-39A	Edwards	ISS assembly flight 6A: robotic arm First spacewalk by a Canadian, Chris Hadfield	[233][234]
105	12 July 2001 09:03:59 UTC 05:03:59 EDT	STS-104	Atlantis	5	12d 18h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 7A: Quest Joint Airlock	[235][236]
106	10 August 2001 21:10:14 UTC 17:10:14 EDT	STS-105	Discovery	7/7	11d 21h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS supply and crew rotation	[237][238]
107	5 December 2001 22:19:28 UTC 17:19:28 EST	STS-108	Endeavour	7/7	11d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS supply and crew rotation	[239][240]
108	1 March 2002 11:22:02 UTC 06:22:02 EST	STS-109	Columbia	7	10d 22h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Hubble Space Telescope servicing Last successful mission for Columbia	[241][242]
109	8 April 2002 20:44:19 UTC 16:44:19 EDT	STS-110	Atlantis	7	10d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 8A: S0 truss	[243][244]
110	5 June 2002 21:22:49 UTC 17:22:49 EDT	STS-111	Endeavour	7/7	13d 20h	LC-39A	Edwards	ISS supply and crew rotation Mobile Base System	[245][246]
111	7 October 2002 19:45:51 UTC 15:45:51 EDT	STS-112	Atlantis	6	10d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 9A: S1 truss	[247][248]
112	23 November 2002 00:49:47 UTC[lower-alpha 3] 19:49:47 EST	STS-113	Endeavour	7/7	13d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 11A: P1 truss, crew rotation Last successful mission before STS-107	[249][250]
113	16 January 2003 15:39:00 UTC 10:39:00 EST	STS-107	Columbia	7	15d 22h	LC-39A	Did not land[lower-alpha 2]	SPACEHAB First Israeli in space, Ilan Ramon Re-entry breakup disintegrated the orbiter and killed crew	[251][252]
114	26 July 2005 14:39:00 UTC 10:39:00 EDT	STS-114	Discovery	7	13d 21h	LC-39B	Edwards	First post Columbia flight Flight safety Evaluation/testing ISS supply/repair MPLM Raffaello	[253][254]
115	4 July 2006 18:37:55 UTC 14:37:55 EDT	STS-121	Discovery	7/6	12d 18h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS Flight ULF1.1: supply and crew rotation MPLM Leonardo	[255][256]
116	9 September 2006 15:14:55 UTC 11:14:55 EDT	STS-115	Atlantis	6	11d 19h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 12A: P3/P4 Truss, Solar Arrays	[257][258]
117	9 December 2006 24:47:35 UTC 20:47:35 EDT	STS-116	Discovery	7/7	12d 21h	LC-39B	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 12A.1: P5 Truss & SPACEHAB-SM Crew rotation Final Space Shuttle launch from LC-39B	[259][260]
118	8 June 2007 23:38:04 UTC 19:38:04 EDT	STS-117	Atlantis	7/7	13d 20h	LC-39A	Edwards	ISS assembly flight 13A: S3/S4 Truss, Solar Arrays Crew rotation	[261][262]
119	8 August 2007 22:36:42 UTC 18:36:42 EDT	STS-118	Endeavour	7	12d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 13A.1: S5 Truss & SPACEHAB-SM & ESP-3 First use of Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System (SSPTS)	[263][264]
120	23 October 2007 15:38:19 UTC 11:38:19 EDT	STS-120	Discovery	7/7	15d 02h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 10A: US Harmony module Crew rotation	[265][266]
121	7 February 2008 19:45:30 UTC 14:45:30 EST	STS-122	Atlantis	7/7	12d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 1E: European Laboratory Columbus Crew rotation	[267][268]
122	11 March 2008 06:28:14 UTC 02:28:14 EDT	STS-123	Endeavour	7/7	15d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 1J/A: Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (ELM PS) & SPDM Crew rotation	[269][270]
123	31 May 2008 21:02:12 UTC 17:02:12 EDT	STS-124	Discovery	7/7	13d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 1J: Japanese modules Kibo and RMS	[271][272]
124	14 November 2008 24:55:39 UTC 19:55:39 EST	STS-126	Endeavour	7/7	15d 20h	LC-39A	Edwards	ISS assembly flight ULF2: MPLM Leonardo Crew rotation	[273][274]
125	15 March 2009 23:43:44 UTC 19:43:44 EDT	STS-119	Discovery	7/7	12d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 15A: S6 Truss, Solar Arrays	[275][276]
126	11 May 2009 18:01:56 UTC 14:01:56 EDT	STS-125	Atlantis	7	12d 21h	LC-39A	Edwards	Last Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission Final Non-ISS flight	[277][278][279]
127	15 July 2009 22:03:10 UTC 18:03:10 EDT	STS-127	Endeavour	7/7	15d 16h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 2J/A: Japanese Experiment Modoules Exposed Facility (EF) and ELM ES	[280][281]
128	28 August 2009 03:59:37 UTC[lower-alpha 3] 23:59:37 EDT	STS-128	Discovery	7/7	13d 21h	LC-39A	Edwards	ISS assembly flight 17A: MPLM Leonardo Crew rotation Final landing at Edwards AFB	[282][283]
129	16 November 2009 19:28:01 UTC 14:28:01 EST	STS-129	Atlantis	6/7	10d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight ULF3: ExPRESS Logistics Carriers (ELCs) 1 & 2	[284][285]
130	8 February 2010 09:14:07 UTC 04:14:07 EST	STS-130	Endeavour	6	13d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 20A: Node 3 and Cupola	[286][287]
131	5 April 2010 10:21:25 UTC 06:21:25 EDT	STS-131	Discovery	7	15d 03h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight 19A: Utility and Logistics Flight 4: Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo Last night launch of the Shuttle Program	[288][289]
132	14 May 2010 18:20:09 UTC 14:20:09 EDT	STS-132	Atlantis	6	11d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight ULF4: Mini-Research Module 1	[290][291]
133	24 February 2011 21:53:24 UTC 16:53:24 EST	STS-133	Discovery	6	12d 19h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight ULF5, Permanent Multipurpose Module Leonardo, ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 Final flight of Discovery	[292][293]
134	16 May 2011 12:56:28 UTC 08:56:28 EDT	STS-134	Endeavour	6	15d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	ISS assembly flight ULF6, ELC 3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Final flight of Endeavour	[294][295]
135	8 July 2011 15:29:04 UTC 11:29:04 EDT	STS-135	Atlantis	4	12d 18h	LC-39A	Kennedy	Payload Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello Final flight of Atlantis Final flight of the Space Shuttle program	[296][297][298]

Shuttle missions

Contingency missions

Atlantis and Endeavour on LC-39A and LC-39B. Endeavour was slated to launch for STS-400 rescue mission should Atlantis (STS-125) be found unable to return safely to Earth.

Main article: STS-3xx

STS-300 was the designation for the Space Shuttle Launch on Need (LON) missions to be launched on short notice for STS-114 and STS-121, in the event that the shuttle became disabled or damaged and could not safely return to Earth.^{[299][300][301]} The rescue flight for STS-115, if needed, would have been STS-301. After STS-115, the rescue mission designations were based on the corresponding regular mission that would be replaced should the rescue mission be needed. For example, the STS-116 rescue mission was branded STS-317, because the normal mission scheduled after STS-116 was STS-117. Should the rescue mission have been needed, the crew and vehicle for STS-117 would assume the rescue mission profile and become STS-317. All potential rescue missions were to be launched with a crew of four, and would return with ten or eleven crew members, depending on the number of crew launched on the rescued shuttle. Missions were expected to last approximately eleven days. None of the planned contingency missions were ever flown.^[302]

No contingency mission was planned for STS-135, the final shuttle mission. Instead, NASA planned to effect any required rescues one-by-one, using Russian Soyuz spacecraft.^[303]

Flight	Rescue Flight
STS-114 (Discovery)	STS-300 (Atlantis)
STS-121 (Discovery)	STS-300 (Atlantis)
STS-115 (Atlantis)	STS-301 (Discovery)
STS-116 (Discovery)	STS-317 (Atlantis)
STS-117 (Atlantis)	STS-318 (Endeavour)
STS-118 (Endeavour)	STS-322 (Discovery)
STS-120 (Discovery)	STS-320 (Atlantis)[lower-alpha 4]
STS-122 (Atlantis)	STS-323 (Discovery)[lower-alpha 5]
STS-123 (Endeavour)	STS-324 (Discovery)
STS-124 (Discovery)	STS-326 (Endeavour)
STS-125 (Atlantis)	STS-400 (Endeavour)
STS-134 (Endeavour)	STS-335 (Atlantis)

Flight statistics

Timeline of missions

See also

• International Space Station construction
• List of Buran missions
• List of human spaceflights
• List of human spaceflights to the International Space Station
• List of Soyuz missions
• List of Space Shuttle crews
• List of Space Shuttle rollbacks

Notes

References