Space Shuttle gliding and landing; it was originally intended to be outfitted for orbital operations after the test program, but it was found more economical to upgrade the structural test article STA-099 into orbiter "Challenger" (OV-099). An additional test article, dubbed "Pathfinder" (OV-098), was built for form and fit tests, and is on display at the Alabama Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. "Challenger" disintegrated 73 seconds after launch in 1986, and "Endeavour" was built as a replacement from structural spare components. Building "Endeavour" cost about US$1.7 billion. "Columbia" broke apart over Texas during re-entry in 2003. A Space Shuttle launch
Advisory Committee on the Future of the United States Space Program Challenger disaster the executive summary of the committee's report recommended, "saving the Space Shuttle for those missions requiring human presence." The committee had twelve members in total, with one chairman and one vice chairman. Advisory Committee on the Future of the United States Space Program The Advisory Committee on the Future of the United States Space Program (also known as the Augustine Commission) was a 1990 space policy group requested by Vice President Dan Quayle, chairman of the National Space Council. The objective of the committee was to evaluate the long-term future of NASA and the United States civilian space