Space Shuttle Trivia Questions
What was the space shuttle?
A: The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable
low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated by
the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), as part of the Space
Shuttle program.
The first of four orbital test flights occurred
in what year?
A: 1981.
When did operational flights begin?
A: In 1982.
How many complete Shuttle systems were built and
used?
A: Five.
How many total space shuttle missions were
there?
A: 135.
Operational missions launched numerous
satellites, interplanetary probes, and what
famous telescope?
A: The Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
The Shuttle fleet's total mission time was long
in days, hours, minutes and seconds?
A: 1322 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes and 23
seconds.
Besides the shuttle itself, what other
components were needed?
A: A pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs),
and the expendable external tank (ET) containing
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
How was the shuttle launched?
A: Vertically, like a conventional rocket.
The SRBs were jettisoned before the vehicle
reached what?
A: Orbit.
When was the ET jettisoned?
A: Just before orbit insertion.
At the conclusion of the mission, the orbiter
fired its OMS to do what?
A: De-orbit and re-enter the atmosphere.
The orbiter then glided as a spaceplane to what
kind of landing?
A: A runway landing.
Where did the shuttle, usually land?
A: At the Shuttle Landing Facility of KSC or
Rogers Dry Lake in Edwards Air Force Base,
California.
After landing at Edwards, the orbiter was flown
back to the KSC on what?
A: The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a specially
modified Boeing 747.
What was the name of the first orbiter?
A: Enterprise.
When was the Enterprise built?
A: In 1976 for use in Approach and Landing Tests
and it had no orbital capability.
What were the names of the first four fully
operational orbiters?
A: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and
Atlantis.
Of these, how many were lost in mission
accidents?
A: Two, Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003.
How may astronauts were killed?
A: Fourteen.
What was the name of the fifth operational
orbiter?
A: Endeavour.
When was the Endeavour built?
A: In 1991 to replace Challenger.
The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon
the conclusion of what shuttles’ final mission?
A: Atlantis's final flight on July 21, 2011.