Who Invented the Space Shuttle?

One of the first things my kids asked when they saw their first space shuttle launch on television was, "Who invented the Space Shuttle?" It was then that I realized there are probably thousands of kids every day who are typing in that very question into Internet search engines, and looking for a useful answer, with few to be found. With those kids in mind, and with my background as an Engineer urging me along, I will attempt to describe exactly who invented the space shuttle and the history of NASA's "human space flight" programs.

It's a Simple Question: Who Invented the Space Shuttle?

A simple question deserves a simple answer, so starting with that in mind, the answer is that the space shuttle was not so much invented as it was "developed" throughout an entire decade. That development involved so many different technologies - medicine and health, robotics, aeronautics, rocketry - that no single person would have had enough knowledge to invent the entire space shuttle on their own. Some people point to George Mueller's label as the "father of the space shuttle" as proof that he should have credit for inventing the shuttle.

Mueller served as the Associate Administrator for the Office of Manned Space Flight at NASA from 1963 through 1969. Those were the critical years that eventually led to the development of the Space Shuttle by NASA in the 1970s. However, serving as an administrator only makes a man a great project manager, but not an inventor of the technology itself. The inventors involved in the space shuttle are the men and women who contributed to the many projects that took place throughout the 60's and 70's, which ultimately led to the very first Space Shuttle flight in 1981.

Who Invented the Space Shuttle? Rockwell International Did.

Many people will tell you that NASA invented the Space Shuttle. The truth is, NASA research ledto the development of the shuttle, but ultimately shuttle design and construction was conducted by a private company after President Nixon signed off on its development and North American Aviation (a Rockwell division) was awarded the contract in 1972.

Leading up to this historic moment in 1972 were thousands of lessons learned from the previous NASA work conducted under the oversight of George Mueller (and others). These projects included:

*NASA's Mercury program involved launching astronauts into orbit on rockets developed from the rocketry research of the 1940's and 1950's. These NASA projects from 1961 through 1966 resulted in astronauts orbiting the earth
*NASA's Apollo Project, from 1968 to 1972, to reach and explore the moon
*NASA's explorer "robot" missions to the Moon, Venus, Mars and the outer galaxy
*Aerospace research and testing related to the X-15 hypersonic projects
*Satellite technologies
*The launch and orbit of Skylab

Once Nixon signed the development of the Space Shuttle into action in 1972, Rockwell International was awarded a $2.6 billion contract to build the space shuttle orbiter (the part of the shuttle remaining after the other parts jettison into space). Through the efforts of thousands of engineers and scientists, Rockwell International developed the test craft named "Enterprise," based on the Boeing 747, proved that the orbiter could enter the upper atmosphere and could land after reentry. This development and testing eventually led to the very first functioning space shuttle to fly into orbit in 1981, the "Columbia." During its missions, the "Columbia" launched satellites, led to the launch of the Spacelab (Skylab) and repaired the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Space Shuttle Today

Each generation of the Space Shuttle was significantly upgraded from the last, especially after the disasters of Columbia's reentry breakup in 2003, and the Challenger explosion in 1986. Since then, shuttles "Discovery", "Atlantis", and the "Endeavour" have all flown space missions successfully many times. The 2003 Columbia incident placed the shuttle program on hold for two years, until "Discovery" launched again in 2005.

One important lesson to learn from the "invention" of the space shuttle is that alone, an inventor can create amazing things, but in collaboration with hundreds or thousands of other inventors, the human imagination knows no bounds.

Sources:
- Boeing Shuttle History
- NASA Human Space Flight Fact Sheet