Criticism of the Space Shuttle program (approximately $ per pound adjusting for inflation to 2011). It failed in the goal of achieving reliable access to space, partly due to multi-year interruptions in launches following Shuttle failures. NASA budget pressures caused by the chronically high NASA Space Shuttle program costs have eliminated NASA manned space flight beyond low earth orbit since Apollo, and severely curtailed use of unmanned probes. NASA's promotion of and reliance on the Shuttle slowed domestic commercial expendable launch vehicle (ELV) programs until after the 1986 "Challenger" disaster. "Space Transportation System" (NASA's formal name for the overall Shuttle program) was created to transport crewmembers
Space Shuttle program been canceled. in the 2010s, two major programs for human spaceflight were Commercial Crew Development and the Space Launch System with the Orion capsule. Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 was, for example, used to launch a Falcon Heavy rocket. The Space Shuttle program has been criticized for failing to achieve its promised cost and utility goals, as well as design, cost, management, and safety issues. Others have argued that the Shuttle program was a step backwards from the Apollo Program, which, while extremely dangerous, accomplished far more scientific and space exploration endeavors than the Shuttle ever could. After both