Saturn-Shuttle and reusing the tanks and other hardware for later flights). The Shuttle would handle space station logistics, while Saturn V would launch components. This would have allowed the International Space Station, using a Skylab or Mir configuration with both U.S. and Russian docking ports, to have been lifted with just a handful of launches. The Saturn-Shuttle concept also would have eliminated the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters that ultimately precipitated the Space Shuttle "Challenger" accident in 1986. Because the shuttle orbiter would be riding piggyback on the external tank, and the need to prevent damage to the delicate thermal protection
Space Shuttle Independence Space Shuttle Independence Space Shuttle "Independence, formerly known as Explorer", is a full-scale, high-fidelity replica of the Space Shuttle. It was built by Guard-Lee in Apopka, Florida, installed at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in 1993, and moved to Space Center Houston in 2012. It was built using schematics, blueprints and archival documents provided by NASA and by shuttle contractors such as Rockwell International. While many of the features on the replica are simulated, some parts, including the landing gear's Michelin tires, have been used in the Space Shuttle program. The model is long, high, has a wingspan, and weighs