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

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

But the channel proved its worth by providing speedy and continuous updates of stories like the assassination attempt on US President Ronald Reagan in 1981, and the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986.

From BBC • May 6, 2026

In the 1980s, we heard about the space shuttle, a reusable spacecraft that would be used for Earth-to-orbit missions, including eventually to the International Space Station.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

From up in the space shuttle, in 1983, astronaut Sally Ride could see the pollution blotting out her Los Angeles hometown.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

When the Soviet Union heard that the United States was planning to launch the country's first female into space aboard the space shuttle, the Soviet space agency committed to putting another Soviet woman into space.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson