Space Shuttle · Reusable winged orbiters that launched like rockets and landed like gliders.
Scores are relative 0–100 marks within this atlas. Use them to browse, not as an engineering spec.
Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Start with the local lens: type approval, operator licences and the hubs named on this page — not a single global checklist.
No. Tool-Lifes /vehicles is an educational atlas. It explains history, systems and culture without affiliate rankings.
No. The six scores are relative editorial 0–100 marks across the 40 types on this site.
Lead images resolve from Wikimedia Commons via Wikipedia titles on the English masters, with licences recorded on the credits page.
Metric is the default. Regional notes (US customary, local brand culture) appear in culture and market chapters.
Each type gets seven fixed-depth chapters, comparable scores and cross-type labs — structured for browsing, not a single freeform page.
Icons are not always the best sellers — they are the ones that stuck in culture, engineering lore or both.
Use the comparison lab on this page to weigh their stats side by side.
NASA · Public domain
Space Shuttle Columbia stands among the reference space shuttle designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1981–2003 placed Space Shuttle Columbia in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA · Public domain
Space Shuttle Discovery stands among the reference space shuttle designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1984–2011 placed Space Shuttle Discovery in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA · Public domain
Space Shuttle Atlantis stands among the reference space shuttle designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1985–2011 placed Space Shuttle Atlantis in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA · Public domain
Space Shuttle Endeavour stands among the reference space shuttle designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1992–2011 placed Space Shuttle Endeavour in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA · Public domain
Space Shuttle Challenger stands among the reference space shuttle designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1983–1986 placed Space Shuttle Challenger in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA · Public domain
Enterprise approach tests stands among the reference space shuttle designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1977 placed Enterprise approach tests in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
MASTER SGT. DAVE CASEY · Public domain
Burans stands among the reference space shuttle designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1988 placed Burans in Soviet Union's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NASA Glenn Research Center / NASA/GRC/Jordan Salkin · Public domain
Dream Chaser concept stands among the reference space shuttle designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 2000s– placed Dream Chaser concept in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Stats are relative 0–100 marks within this type, for comparison only.
Toggle icons on and off — every bar rescales to the leader of your selection.
Should a space shuttle be judged by passenger-km and uptime, or by how completely it owns the public imagination?
Some legends dominate one corridor; others become templates copied worldwide.