The first american space shuttle was launched in april 1981.This partly reusable crafts has tought astronauts an immense amount about working in space. Which bit is that ? The shuttle has three main components, The orbiter, a huge fuel tank,and two rocket boosters .Heat protection: Nearly 25000 heat resistant tiles cover the orbiter to protect it from high temperatures on re entry.Ditch the tanks!- The rocket boosters are released two minutes after launch they parachute back to earth and will be used again. The tank is discarded eight minutes after lunch and breaks uo in the atmosphere. Pop it there- Each orbiter has a huge payload bay. You could park a school bus in this cavity, wich holds the satellites experiments and laboratories that need to be taken into space . A Safe Landing- Shuttle glide down belly first. Once the orbiter touches the runway, it release 12 m that is 40 ft draf chute to slow it down.
