The concept for a reusable winged space vehicle has been a dream since the early 20th century. In 1981 the United States launched the first such vehicle, Columbia, and proved that winged spacecraft could work. Now, due to political pressure, the Orbiter fleet is slated to be decommissioned, but not before it fulfills its original mandate—to build a permanent space station.

This Pocket Space Guide, #10 in the series, details the exploits of the Space Shuttle fleet through triumph and tragedy, as it carried more than 300 people, 40 space laboratories and more than 60 satellites into space. From the first test flights to the détente missions to Russia’s Mir space station, thousands of facts can be found in this Space Shuttle Fact Archive.