Space Shuttle landing at Edwards, the orbiter was flown back to the KSC on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a specially modified Boeing 747. The first orbiter, "Enterprise", was built in 1976, used in Approach and Landing Tests and had no orbital capability. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built: "Columbia", "Challenger", "Discovery", and "Atlantis". Of these, two were lost in mission accidents: "Challenger" in 1986 and "Columbia" in 2003, with a total of fourteen astronauts killed. A fifth operational (and sixth in total) orbiter, "Endeavour", was built in 1991 to replace "Challenger". The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion
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