STS-93 marked the 95th launch of the Space Shuttle, the 26th launch of Columbia, and the 21st night launch of a Space Shuttle. Eileen Collins became the first female shuttle Commander on this flight. Its primary payload was the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS). Five complete Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles were built and flown on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011.
Space Shuttle Columbia (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space-rated orbiter in NASA's Space Shuttle fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12, 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle program. Over 22 years of service, it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.
Space Shuttle Details
Date of
Birth: Nov. 19, 1956
Age: 69
Date of
Birth: June 16, 1954
Age: 72
Date of
Birth: Sept. 30, 1949
Age: 76
Date of
Birth: Dec. 14, 1960
Age: 65
Date of
Birth: Dec. 12, 1951
Age: 74
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
INFO WIKITwo galaxies merge at a furious rate in this Aug. 25, 2026, image of the II Zw 096 system. This and several other images of both visually and scientifically interesting galaxies were released by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other t…
Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have discovered a new class of objects behaving unlike any they have seen before. Astronomers suggest these newly spotted objects in other galaxies may help solve not one, but two long-sta…
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory unveiled this new look at the galaxy NGC 4736, also known as Messier 94, on June 30, 2026. Messier 94 is a spiral galaxy with a bright inner ring around it, called a starburst ring, where new stars are form…
This composite image, released on July 9, 2026, shows the region around a pulsar – a neutron star with a strong magnetic field that spins incredibly fast – within the Lighthouse nebula. The image contains X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-r…
A new result using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shows that the outer spiral arms in the Milky Way galaxy may reach wider than previously thought. This finding may lead astronomers to adjust their understanding of our home galaxy’s stru…
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.
Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.
Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…
2 Earth observation radar satellites built by the Chinese satellite manufacturer SpaceTY.
USSF-259 is a classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield …
A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…
Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.
9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with …
10 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…