Space Shuttle orbiter its maiden flight in 1977. An unpowered glider, it was carried by a modified Boeing 747 airliner called the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and released for a series of atmospheric test flights and landings. "Enterprise" was partially disassembled and retired after completion of critical testing. The remaining orbiters were fully operational spacecraft, and were launched vertically as part of the Space Shuttle stack. "Columbia" was the first space-worthy orbiter, and made its inaugural flight in 1981. "Challenger", "Discovery", and "Atlantis" followed in 1983, 1984 and 1985 respectively. In 1986, "Challenger" was destroyed in an accident shortly after launch. "Endeavour" was built
Space Shuttle made Space Shuttle thermal protection system tiles available to schools and universities for less than US$25 each. About 7,000 tiles were available on a first-come, first-served basis, limited to one per institution. On April 12, 2011, NASA announced selection of locations for the remaining Shuttle orbiters: In August 2011, the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a "Review of NASA's Selection of Display Locations for the Space Shuttle Orbiters"; the review had four main findings: The NASA OIG had three recommendations, saying NASA should: In September 2011, the CEO and two board members of Seattle's Museum of Flight met