Editing Space Shuttle (section)

===Design process===
{{main|Space Shuttle design process}}

On September 24, 1966, as the Apollo space program neared its design completion, NASA and the Air Force released a joint study concluding that a new vehicle was required to satisfy their respective future demands and that a partially reusable system would be the most cost-effective solution.<ref name="dev_space_shuttle" />{{rp|164}} The head of the NASA Office of Manned Space Flight, [[George Mueller (NASA)|George Mueller]], announced the plan for a reusable shuttle on August 10, 1968. NASA issued a [[request for proposal]] (RFP) for designs of the Integral Launch and Reentry Vehicle (ILRV) on October 30, 1968.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guilmartin JF, Mauer JW |title=A shuttle chronology 1964–1973: Abstract concepts to letter contracts (5 vols.) |publisher=NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX. |year=1988 |location=Houston, TX. |publication-date=1988}}</ref> Rather than award a contract based upon initial proposals, NASA announced a phased approach for the Space Shuttle contracting and development; Phase A was a request for studies completed by competing aerospace companies, Phase B was a competition between two contractors for a specific contract, Phase C involved designing the details of the spacecraft components, and Phase D was the production of the spacecraft.<ref name=lindroos>{{cite web|url=http://www.pmview.com/spaceodysseytwo/spacelvs/index.htm|title=Introduction to Future Launch Vehicle Plans [1963–2001]|last=Lindroos|first=Marcus|publisher=Pmview.com|date=June 15, 2001|access-date=April 25, 2019|archive-date=July 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717122307/http://www.pmview.com/spaceodysseytwo/spacelvs/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= shuttle_manual />{{rp|19–22}}

In December 1968, NASA created the Space Shuttle Task Group to determine the optimal design for a reusable spacecraft, and issued study contracts to [[General Dynamics]], [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]], [[McDonnell Douglas]], and [[North American Rockwell]]. In July 1969, the Space Shuttle Task Group issued a report that determined the Shuttle would support short-duration crewed missions and space station, as well as the capabilities to launch, service, and retrieve satellites. The report also created three classes of a future reusable shuttle: Class I would have a reusable orbiter mounted on expendable boosters, Class II would use multiple expendable rocket engines and a single propellant tank (stage-and-a-half), and Class III would have both a reusable orbiter and a reusable booster. In September 1969, the Space Task Group, under the leadership of U.S. vice president [[Spiro Agnew]], issued a report calling for the development of a space shuttle to bring people and cargo to low Earth orbit (LEO), as well as a [[space tug]] for transfers between orbits and the Moon, and a reusable [[Nuclear propulsion#Spacecraft|nuclear upper stage]] for deep space travel.<ref name="dev_space_shuttle" />{{rp|163–166}}<ref name=space_task_group_1969 />

After the release of the Space Shuttle Task Group report, many aerospace engineers favored the Class III, fully reusable design because of perceived savings in hardware costs. [[Max Faget]], a NASA engineer who had worked to design the [[Project Mercury|Mercury]] capsule, patented a design for a two-stage fully recoverable system with a straight-winged orbiter mounted on a larger straight-winged booster.<ref name="faget_bio">{{cite web |last= Allen |first= Bob |title= Maxime A. Faget |publisher= NASA |date= August 7, 2017 |url= https://www.nasa.gov/langley/hall-of-honor/maxime-a-faget |access-date= April 24, 2019 |archive-date= December 19, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191219065416/https://www.nasa.gov/langley/hall-of-honor/maxime-a-faget/ |url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="faget_patent">{{cite patent |country=United States |number=3,702,688 |status= |title=Space Shuttle Vehicle and System |pubdate=November 14, 1972 |gdate= |fdate=January 4, 1971 |pridate= |inventor=[[Maxime Faget|Maxime A. Faget]] |invent1= |invent2= |assign1= |assign2= |class= |url=https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/eb/f9/60/879c61bb6df70a/US3702688.pdf}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424100336/https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/eb/f9/60/879c61bb6df70a/US3702688.pdf |date=April 24, 2019}}</ref> The Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory argued that a straight-wing design would not be able to withstand the high thermal and aerodynamic stresses during reentry, and would not provide the required cross-range capability. Additionally, the Air Force required a larger payload capacity than Faget's design allowed. In January 1971, NASA and Air Force leadership decided that a reusable delta-wing orbiter mounted on an expendable propellant tank would be the optimal design for the Space Shuttle.<ref name="dev_space_shuttle" />{{rp|166}}

After they established the need for a reusable, heavy-lift spacecraft, NASA and the Air Force determined the design requirements of their respective services. The Air Force expected to use the Space Shuttle to launch large satellites, and required it to be capable of lifting {{convert|65000|lb|kg|sigfig=2|sp=us|order=flip|adj=on|abbr=on}} to an eastward LEO or {{convert|40000|lb|kg|sigfig=2|sp=us|order=flip|adj=on|abbr=on}} into a [[polar orbit]]. The satellite designs also required that the Space Shuttle have a {{convert|15|by|60|ft|m|sigfig=2|sp=us|order=flip|adj=on|abbr=on}} payload bay. NASA evaluated the [[Rocketdyne F-1|F-1]] and [[Rocketdyne J-2|J-2]] engines from the [[Saturn (rocket family)|Saturn rockets]], and determined that they were insufficient for the requirements of the Space Shuttle; in July 1971, it issued a contract to [[Rocketdyne]] to begin development on the [[RS-25]] engine.<ref name="dev_space_shuttle" />{{rp|165–170}}

NASA reviewed 29 potential designs for the Space Shuttle and determined that a design with two side boosters should be used, and the boosters should be reusable to reduce costs.<ref name="dev_space_shuttle" />{{rp|167}} NASA and the Air Force elected to use [[solid-propellant rocket|solid-propellant boosters]] because of the lower costs and the ease of refurbishing them for reuse after they landed in the ocean. In January 1972, President [[Richard Nixon]] approved the Shuttle, and NASA decided on its final design in March. The development of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) remained the responsibility of Rocketdyne, and the contract was issued in July 1971, and updated SSME specifications were submitted to Rocketdyne that&nbsp;April<!-- 1972-->.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lethbridge |first1=Cliff |title=SPACE SHUTTLE |url=https://www.spaceline.org/united-states-manned-space-flight/space-shuttle-program-history/#:~:text=The%20first%20goal%20of%20the,by%2012%20to%2024%20people. |website=Spaceline.org |access-date=March 31, 2023 |archive-date=March 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331193408/https://www.spaceline.org/united-states-manned-space-flight/space-shuttle-program-history/#:~:text=The%20first%20goal%20of%20the,by%2012%20to%2024%20people. |url-status=live}}</ref> The following August<!-- 1972-->, NASA awarded the contract to build the orbiter to North American Rockwell, which had by then constructed a full-scale mock-up, later named ''[[Space Shuttle Inspiration|Inspiration]]''.<ref name="Campa 2024">{{cite web | last=Campa | first=Andrew J. | title='This is where it all happened.' Downey's space shuttle prototype begins move to future home | website=Los Angeles Times | date=October 17, 2024 | url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-10-17/downey-space-shuttle-model-moves-to-site-near-future-home | access-date=January 19, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Lost LA S7E1">{{cite web | title=Lost LA season 7, episode 1: Space Shuttle | website=PBS | date=January 7, 2025 | url=https://www.pbs.org/video/space-shuttle-jraw1j/ | access-date=January 19, 2025}}</ref> In August 1973, NASA awarded the external tank contract to [[Martin Marietta]], and in November the solid-rocket booster contract to [[Morton Thiokol]].<ref name="dev_space_shuttle" />{{rp|170–173}}