It was also the first Orbiter to have a heads-up display system similar to those found in military and newer civilian aircraft to allow the commander and pilot to see important data during reentry and landing, eliminating the need to look at the instrument panel during descent and allowing them to concentrate on flying the Orbiter.Ĭhallenger, along with Discovery was modified at KSC to be able to carry the Centaur-G upper-stage in its payload bay. Most of the tiles were replaced with DuPont white nomex felt insulation on the payload bay doors, upper wing surface and rear fuselage surface, allowing Challenger to carry 2,500 lbs. Unlike Columbia, Challenger was the first Orbiter to be delivered with fewer tiles on its Thermal Protection System. The spacecraft was named after a British corvette which carried out a pioneering global marine research expedition in the 1870s. STA-099 had not been meant for spaceflight, but NASA discovered that recycling it would be less expensive than refitting the test shuttle Enterprise (OV-101) to be spaceworthy, as originally planned. (For more on the Challenger disaster, see Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.) It would be replaced by the space shuttle Endeavour, launched six years after the 51-L disaster.Ĭhallenger was constructed using a body frame ( STA-099) that had initially been built as a test article. Its maiden voyage was on April 4, 1983, and it made eight further round trips to low earth orbit before breaking up 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, on January 28, 1986, killing all 7 crew members. Space Shuttle Challenger ( NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, after Columbia.

Nasa second space shuttle orbiter