Space shuttle: History in the making - in pictures

The shuttle prototype, Enterprise, separates from the 747 shuttle carrier aircraft for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center in southern California in 1977 Photograph: NASA

The space shuttle fleet. From the left: Columbia, Endeavour, Atlantis, Discovery and Challenger
Photograph: Nasa/Corbis

The first space shuttle, Columbia, attached to its external fuel tank in the vehicle assembly building at Kennedy Space Centre. The first orbital test flight took place in March 1981 Photograph: NASA

The beginning of the end: Nasa staff and the media photograph Atlantis as it is rolled out to the vehicle assembly building at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on 17 May 2011 ahead of the shuttle's final flight. The mission delivered the Raffaello module packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station
Photograph: Nasa

Fog envelops Challenger on 30 November 1982 as it moves along the three-and-a-half mile 'crawlerway' to launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Centre for its maiden flight Photograph: NASA

A payload canister carrying the Raffaello module is lifted to the payload changeout room on the rotating service structure on launch pad 39A during preparations for the final shuttle mission Photograph: Dimitri Gerondidakis/NASA

Atlantis’s bay doors close around the Raffaello module. The shuttle also carried into orbit a system to investigate the potential for refuelling satellites in space Photograph: NASA

Columbia is readied on the launchpad for the very first shuttle orbital mission in 1981. To the left of the shuttle are the fixed and rotating service structures
Photograph: Nasa

Atlantis awaits launch at Kennedy Space Centre in May 2009 for the final Hubble servicing mission. In the background, Endeavour is on standby should a major problem arise during the mission
Photograph: Nasa

Mission specialist Steven L Smith prepares to enter the space shuttle Discovery in 1994, with the assistance of white room closeout crew members Photograph: NASA

Shuttle astronauts are strapped into their seats inside Atlantis for a simulated countdown exercise in 2000 Photograph: NASA

Columbia launches in March 2002. Torrents of water spread over the mobile launcher platform and into the flame trench – part of the sound suppression system
Photograph: Nasa

Discovery blasts off for the International Space Station in 2006
Photograph: Nasa

Discovery launches on 29 September 1988 Photograph: Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis

Atlantis takes to the skies on 2 December 1988
Photograph: Nasa

Challenger explodes shortly after lifting off from Kennedy Space Centre on 28 January 1986. All seven crew members died in the explosion, which was attributed to faulty O-rings in the shuttle’s booster rockets Photograph: Bruce Weaver/AP

Separation of the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters at two minutes 11 seconds into a successful launch. The image shows the two booster casings falling away, still spewing sparks from their white-hot linings Photograph: NASA

Divers from Freedom Star, one of Nasa’s solid rocket booster retrieval ships, help with the recovery of a spent booster from Discovery’s final launch in February 2011. Boosters would fall into the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff and the retrieval ships would be stationed about 10 miles from the impact area. After the spent segments were processed, they were transported to Utah for refurbishment and storage
Photograph: Ben Smegelsky/Nasa

The external tank falls toward the ocean after separation from Discovery during its mission in 1989. The giant cylinder, higher than a 15-storey building, was the largest single piece of the space shuttle. During launch, it also acted as a backbone for the orbiter and solid rocket boosters Photograph: NASA

Discovery approaches the International Space Station in October 2007, carrying the Harmony module Photograph: NASA

The crew of the final shuttle mission practise rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station in the Systems Engineering Simulator at the Johnson Space Center in Houston Photograph: Smiley N. Pool/AP

A fish-eye lens captures pilot Mark E. Kelly (right) and mission specialist Linda M. Godwin at the controls of Endeavour’s robotic arm on the shuttle’s aft flight deck in December 2001 Photograph: NASA

Discovery on mission STS-121 in 2006 Photograph: NASA

The shuttle flight control room in Houston’s Mission Control Centre during a spacewalk from Columbia in 2006 Photograph: NASA

The shadow of an astronaut photographing Discovery's thermal tiles in 2005. STS-114 was classified as Logistics Flight 1, designed to test new inspection and repair techniques for the orbiter following the loss of Columbia in 2003 Photograph: NASA

A fish-eye lens captures a panorama of Earth's horizon with Atlantis' cargo bay in the foreground on this mission in May 2000 Photograph: NASA

Astronaut Bruce McCandless II floats untethered in space in a suit with built-in propulsion - the 'manned manoeuvring unit' - in February 1984, part of the 10th shuttle mission and the fourth flight of Challenger. McCandless II was said to have become 'the first human Earth-orbiting satellite' Photograph: NASA

The Hubble Space Telescope is deployed on 25 April 1990 using Discovery's robotic arm Photograph: NASA

Hubble is held in place by Discovery's robotic arm following the partial unfurling of its solar panels. The telescope's primary mirror was later found to be fractionally misshapen, leading to catastrophic spherical aberrations in its images. The optics were corrected during an epic 11-day mission by Endeavour in 1993 including five spacewalks Photograph: NASA

Endeavour captures and repairs the Intelsat VI satellite, part of mission STS-49 - Endeavour's first flight in May 1992 Photograph: NASA

Atlantis docked to the Russian space station Mir in June 1995. The picture was taken by Russian cosmonauts in a Soyuz capsule Photograph: NASA

In December 1998, the crew of Endeavour began constructing the International Space Station, joining the US-built Unity node to the Russian-built Zarya module Photograph: NASA

Endeavour silhouetted against the backdrop of Earth's horizon on 9 February 2010 prior to docking with the International Space Station. The picture was taken from the ISS Photograph: NASA/Reuters

The International Space Station and the docked space shuttle Endeavour. The image was taken by astronaut Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz following its undocking on 23 May 2011 Photograph: NASA

Astronaut Michael Good, a mission specialist on STS-125 in 2009, attached to a foot restraint at the end of Atlantis's remote manipulator system, working on the Hubble Space Telescope. Astronaut Mike Massimino can be seen bottom right of the frame. It was the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission Photograph: NASA

The Hubble Space Telescope after its fifth and final service, performed by the crew of Atlantis in May 2009 Photograph: NASA

Discovery's crew prepare to leave orbit and complete an extended mission in September 1994. Manning the commander’s station, wearing one of the launch and entry suits, is mission commander Richard N Richards. At the pilot’s station is Susan J Helms, mission specialist Photograph: NASA

The firing of an orbital manoeuvering system engine causes a bright glow at the aft end of Challenger Photograph: NASA

Saturday 1 February 2003. Columbia streaks across the sky over the Owens Valley Radio Observatory in California Photograph: William G. Hartenstein/Corbis

Debris from Columbia in the sky over Dallas, Texas. The shuttle broke up during re-entry killing all seven crew. The cause of the accident was later found to have been a piece of insulating foam that fell from the external fuel tank during launch and damaged thermal protection tiles on the leading edge of one of the shuttle's wings Photograph: Jason Hutchinson/AP

Pieces of debris collected during search and recovery efforts in east Texas arranged on the floor of a hangar at Kennedy Space Center. More than 82,000 items were recovered, weighing a total of 84,800 pounds or 38% of the original weight of Columbia. Some 78,760 of the pieces of debris were identified during the investigation into the disaster
Photograph: Nasa

The programme resumed three years later. This is Discovery coming in to land at Edwards Air Force Base Photograph: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News/Corbis

Atlantis touches down at 10:56 BST on 21 July 2011 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ending its 13-day mission to the International Space Station and bringing down the curtain on Nasa's 30-year space shuttle programme Photograph: Bill Ingalls/AFP/Getty Images