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1980s
| America finally returned to space in the 1980s with the introduction of the Space Shuttle, the first reusable manned spacecraft. Although originally conceived as an efficient, low-cost alternative to one-time-use rockets, the shuttle actually turned out to be far less efficient and far more expensive than its conventional counterparts. The explosion of the shuttle Challenger in January 1986 and the loss of the shuttle Columbia in February 2003 also reminded people that it would be a long, long time before manned spaceflight could ever be considered "routine." |
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US SPACE SHUTTLE & LAUNCH TOWER (1981) |
US AND USSR MISSILE DISPLAY (1984) |
ARIANE 4 LAUNCH VEHICLE (1988) |
ENERGIA-BURAN (1988) |
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