The Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle is certainly the most technologically advanced glider ever built.  It can be launched into space with rockets but returns to earth like a plane, or actually a glider. It is probably the most significant development in the history of space exploration.
The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on April 12, 1981, flew without a payload in its cargo bay, but from the fifth mission on the Space Shuttle has been fully operational.  It crew members have retrieved orbiting satellites, repaired and redeployed them, performed scientific experiments and even conducted military tests.
Other orbiters in the space shuttle program, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavor and Atlantis, have made numerous missions into space in preparation for the construction of an international space station which is to be completed early in the next century.  This space station will allow scientist from many nations to conduct will allow experiments in space, preparing  for even more ambitious programs such as establishing a lunar base or sending people on fantastic journeys to far away destinations.

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