Space shuttle orbiter
A space shuttle orbiter was a type of low-orbit spacecraft developed on Earth by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States of America.

Design 
The  was the prototype orbiter for the space shuttle system. The launch system used by the first vessels constructed of this model consisted of an orbiter vehicle, an external liftoff , and two rocket boosters. ()

The shuttle program used Spacehab as a provider of cargo modules. ( opening credits)

History 
In April 1981, the  was launched into space on her maiden voyage. This mission was the first of 133 orbital missions completed by the Columbia and her sister ships over the next thirty years. Sadly, two additional missions ended in tragedy with the  destroyed during launch in 1986 and the Columbia  disintegrating during reentry in 2003. This first generation of space shuttle orbiters was retired in 2011 and subsequently replaced by the second generation of space shuttle orbiters like the OV-165. ()

List of orbiters
NASA's first series of orbiters have been honored by having several future starships named for them. (listed in order shuttles became operational)

 Enterprise (OV-101) – Starships Enterprise
 Columbia (OV-102) – 
The astronauts selected for the STS-107 mission were Richard Douglas Husband, William Cameron McCool, David McDowell Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Phillip Anderson, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon. The mission insignia was later seen in 2143, along with other NASA mission insignia in the 602 Club. ()

 Challenger (OV-099) – 
Mission insignia for two Challenger missions were displayed in the bar in Bozeman, Montana in 2063. ()

 Discovery (OV-103) 
The mission insignia for STS-33 was displayed in the bar in Bozeman, Montana in 2063. () Two other mission insignia were displayed in the 602 Club in 2143. ()

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Legacy 
Admiral Maxwell Forrest kept two models of a space shuttle in his office on Earth. ()

After Jonathan Archer restored a damaged timeline, a space shuttle lifting off could be seen in the time stream as the timeline realigned itself. ()

A sketch depicting an overhead view of a space shuttle was contained in the library computer aboard the  in 2254. ()

Appendices

Background information 
The first flight of the Columbia, and of the Space Shuttle Program, in 1981 is one of the real world events referenced in the .

External links 
 
 
 
Earth spacecraft classes