space shuttle

American  

noun

(often initial capital letters)

1. any of several U.S. space vehicles consisting of a reusable manned orbiter that touches down on a landing strip after an orbital mission, two reusable solid rocket boosters that drop off after initial ascent, and an expendable external tank containing liquid propellants.

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space shuttle British  

noun

1. any of a series of reusable US space vehicles ( Columbia (exploded 2003), Challenger (exploded 1986), Discovery , Atlantis , Endeavour ) that can be launched into earth orbit transporting astronauts and equipment for a period of observation, research, etc, before re-entry and an unpowered landing on a runway; the first operational flight occurred in 1981 and it was taken out of service in 2011

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space shuttle Cultural  

1. A vehicle built by NASA that is capable of taking off from Earth, carrying a crew and a cargo into space, and returning to Earth to be used again. It is used primarily to transport a crew to an orbiting space station and to deploy and retrieve satellites.

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The space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986. All seven crew members died in the accident.

Etymology

Origin of space shuttle

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Example Sentences

Retired space shuttle engineers, including a few who worked on the Discovery, wager the final bill to move and install it in a new home could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has already cut the cost of reaching space by 95% relative to the space shuttle.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

During the space shuttle era in 1981 to 2011, astronauts spent two to three weeks in space.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Yet, it’s true: Several trailblazing Black astronauts stayed aboard for several days while helping build the ISS on space shuttle missions.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

We’d toured historic launch sites and working spaceflight facilities, strapped in for an eight-and-a-half-minute simulated space shuttle ascent into orbit, and met astronaut Fred Gregory.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas