Space Shuttle It weighed 3.4 metric tons (7,500 lb) less than the last run of lightweight tanks, allowing the Shuttle to deliver heavy elements to ISS's high inclination orbit. As the Shuttle was always operated with a crew, each of these improvements was first flown on operational mission flights. The solid rocket boosters underwent improvements as well. Design engineers added a third O-ring seal to the joints between the segments after the 1986 Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster. Several other SRB improvements were planned to improve performance and safety, but never came to be. These culminated in the considerably simpler, lower cost, probably
Space Shuttle Endeavour California, where the orbiters were originally constructed. It has been planned for a new facility to be built with "Endeavour" attached to an external fuel tank (the last mission-ready one in existence as all others were destroyed during launch) and the two solid rocket boosters and raised in an upright position, as if "Endeavour" were to make one more flight. Space Shuttle Endeavour Space Shuttle "Endeavour" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is a retired orbiter from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th