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the Names of the Space Shuttle Orbiters
INFORMATIVE 
Tags: Space, Shuttle, orbiters, Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour, astronauts
Their names, in the order they were built, are:
| 1. | Enterprise - the first Space Shuttle built for NASA. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of space operations; its purpose was to perform test flights in the atmosphere. |
| 2. | Columbia - the first spaceworthy space shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. Its first mission, STS-1, lasted from April 12 to April 14, 1981. On February 1, 2003, Columbia disintegrated during re-entry over Texas, on its 28th mission. All seven crew members aboard perished. |
| 3. | Challenger - NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia being the first. Its maiden flight was on April 4, 1983, and it completed nine missions before disintegrating 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, on January 28, 1986, killing all seven crew members. |
| 4. | Discovery - one of the three currently operational spacecraft in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. When first flown in 1984, Discovery became the third operational Space Shuttle and is now the oldest shuttle in service. Discovery has performed both research and International Space Station (ISS) assembly missions. |
| 5. | Atlantis - one of the three currently operational spacecraft in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Atlantis was the fourth operational shuttle built. In early 2007, NASA officials reversed an earlier decision to keep Atlantis flying until 2010. |
| 6. | Endeavour - one of the three currently operational spacecraft in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour was the fifth and final NASA space shuttle to be built. |
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