A Space Shuttle timeline covering all five orbiters, STS-1, Sally Ride, Challenger and Columbia, Hubble deployment and servicing, Mir dockings, ISS assembly, and the final STS-135 flight.
For 30 years NASA's Space Shuttle was the world's only reusable crewed spacecraft, flying 135 missions. This timeline runs from Nixon's 1972 approval through Columbia's first launch, Hubble, Mir, ISS assembly, two tragedies, and the final landing of Atlantis in 2011.
President Nixon announces NASA will build a reusable Space Transportation System on 5 January 1972.
Prototype orbiter Enterprise, named after the Star Trek starship, is unveiled at Palmdale on 17 September 1976.
Enterprise flies five free approach-and-landing tests off the back of a 747 in 1977, proving the orbiter can glide home.
John Young and Robert Crippen fly the first Space Shuttle mission on 12 April 1981 - the boldest test flight in history.
Columbia deploys two commercial satellites on STS-5, opening the shuttle's operational era.
Sally Ride flies aboard Challenger on STS-7, launched 18 June 1983.
Guion Bluford flies on Challenger's STS-8 night launch on 30 August 1983.
Bruce McCandless flies the Manned Maneuvering Unit free of Challenger on STS-41-B - the iconic untethered EVA photo.
Discovery, the fleet's eventual workhorse, launches on its maiden flight STS-41-D.
Atlantis makes its first flight on STS-51-J in October 1985.
Challenger breaks apart 73 seconds after launch on 28 January 1986, killing all seven crew including teacher Christa McAuliffe.
After 32 months of redesign, Discovery returns the shuttle to flight on 29 September 1988.
Discovery's STS-31 carries Hubble to orbit on 24 April 1990, beginning a new era in astronomy.
Challenger's replacement Endeavour debuts on STS-49, featuring a dramatic three-person satellite capture EVA.
STS-61 astronauts install corrective optics that fix Hubble's flawed mirror in December 1993.
Atlantis docks with Russia's Mir station on STS-71, opening the Shuttle-Mir partnership that paved the way to the ISS.
Mercury pioneer John Glenn flies on Discovery's STS-95, becoming the oldest person in space at the time.
Endeavour's STS-88 mates the Unity node to Zarya, beginning shuttle-led assembly of the International Space Station.
Columbia disintegrates during re-entry on 1 February 2003, killing its seven crew; wing damage from launch debris is the cause.
Discovery flies the post-Columbia return-to-flight mission with new inspection and repair techniques.
Atlantis's STS-125 crew makes the fifth and final house call to Hubble, extending its life by more than a decade.
Atlantis closes the program with STS-135, landing on 21 July 2011 after 135 missions over 30 years.
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