United States
On January 5, 1972, President Richard Nixon announced that the United States would proceed with developing a reusable Space Shuttle. The program sought to lower launch costs and support frequent missions to low Earth orbit. NASA designed an orbiter and booster system to carry crew and payloads, enabling satellite deployment, science experiments, and later construction of the International Space Station. The first orbital flight occurred in 1981 with the shuttle Columbia. Although the program experienced triumphs and tragedies, it transformed American human spaceflight for three decades. The Shuttle era ended in 2011 after 135 missions.
