How did the orbiter land?

As an unpowered glider on a runway

Space Shuttle Orbiter Quiz: Reusable Wings and Heat Tiles

NASA's winged spacecraft launched like a rocket and landed like a glider for 30 years, and this Space Shuttle orbiter quiz explains how it was built. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the five spaceflight orbiters, Enterprise, the first launch in 1981, heat tiles, carbon leading edges, the payload bay, reusable boosters, the Hubble launch, ISS assembly and the final flight in 2011.

Start Space Shuttle Orbiter Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Fleet
How many orbiters flew in space?
Test
Which orbiter was used only for atmospheric tests?
First
When was the first shuttle launch?
Tiles
What protected the orbiter from reentry heat?
Edges
What material protected the hottest wing edges and nose?
Landing
How did the orbiter land?
Reuse
Which parts were not reused?
Hubble
Which orbiter launched the Hubble Space Telescope?
ISS
What major project did shuttles help build?
Final
Which orbiter flew the final mission in 2011?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: How many orbiters flew in space?
Answer: Five
Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.
Q2: Which orbiter was used only for atmospheric tests?
Answer: Enterprise
Its name came from a fan campaign.
Q3: When was the first shuttle launch?
Answer: April 1981
Columbia flew STS-1.
Q4: What protected the orbiter from reentry heat?
Answer: Thousands of silica tiles
Each tile was unique.
Q5: What material protected the hottest wing edges and nose?
Answer: Reinforced carbon-carbon
It handled extreme temperatures.
Q6: How did the orbiter land?
Answer: As an unpowered glider on a runway
Pilots had one chance.
Q7: Which parts were not reused?
Answer: The large external fuel tank
The boosters were recovered at sea.
Q8: Which orbiter launched the Hubble Space Telescope?
Answer: Discovery
It happened in 1990.
Q9: What major project did shuttles help build?
Answer: The International Space Station
Shuttles carried large modules.
Q10: Which orbiter flew the final mission in 2011?
Answer: Atlantis
STS-135 ended the program.

Space Shuttle Orbiter Quiz – Reusable Wings and Heat Tiles

The Space Shuttle program flew 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. Five orbiters reached space: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, while Enterprise, named after a fan campaign, was used for atmospheric tests.

The orbiter launched with reusable solid rocket boosters and a large external tank that was not reused. To survive reentry, it was covered with thousands of silica tiles, with reinforced carbon-carbon on the nose and wing edges. It landed as a glider.

Shuttles launched the Hubble Space Telescope from Discovery in 1990 and carried modules to build the International Space Station. The program also suffered the tragic losses of Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003. Atlantis flew the final mission in 2011.

What This Quiz Teaches

Space fans will enjoy these questions.

How many orbiters flew
How the orbiter was protected
How it launched and landed
Which missions mattered
How the program ended

Did You Know?

The payload bay was about 18 meters long.
Retired orbiters are displayed in museums.
The shuttle could carry up to seven or more astronauts.
Its robotic arm was built in Canada.
Columbia flew the first five missions.