After the rollout of Space Shuttle Discovery, Brig. Gen. Donald Pettit (2nd from left), Center Director Roy Bridges, and Gen. Ralph Everhart take a look at the Fixed Service Structure on Launch Pad 39B. At far left is Dave Rainer. Gen. Everhart is Commander of the Space Command and Gen. Pettit is Commander of the 45th Space Wing, Cape Canaveral KSC01pp0380

The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.

• Pettit center hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy
• Everhart hi-res stock photography and images - Page 11 - Alamy
• Space shuttle wing Stock Photos and Images - Alamy
• Space shuttle discovery wing Stock Photos and Images - Alamy
• Space shuttle discovery rollout launch Stock Photos and Images
• Gen everhart hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy
• Fixed service structure hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy
• Puentes de mando fotografías e imágenes de alta resolución - Alamy
• Servicio fijo fotografías e imágenes de alta resolución - Alamy