Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle "Challenger" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was the second orbiter of NASA's space shuttle program to be put into service, after "Columbia". "Challenger" was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, in Downey, California. Its maiden flight, STS-6, began on April 4, 1983. The orbiter was launched and landed nine times before breaking apart 73 seconds into its tenth mission, STS-51-L, on January 28, 1986, resulting in the death of all seven crew members, including a civilian school teacher. It was the first of two shuttles to be destroyed in flight, the other being "Columbia",
Space Shuttle America and the ride ends. The fictional events take place in 2094. The movie was shown for a short while at Six Flags Over Texas, and was made by DreamQuest Images. Outside the building that houses the queue and the ride itself is a fiberglass mock-up of a Space Shuttle orbiter that has authentic "tiles" used in actual space shuttle orbiters. The shuttle was built to the exact scale of the real STS craft , but is neither an official NASA shuttle nor capable of spaceflight. The building that shows Space Shuttle America also showed: High operating costs and dwindling popularity