Space Shuttle

NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States government's present manned launch vehicle. At launch, it consists of a rust-colored outer tank, two white, slender solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and a winged orbiter. The orbiter carries astronauts and payload such as satellites or space location parts into low earth orbit. Normally, five to seven astronauts ride in the orbiter, with two pilots, eight have been carried, and eleven could be accommodated in an urgent situation landing. When the orbiter's work is complete, it fires its orbital maneuvering thrusters to drop out of orbit and re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. During the descent and landing, the shuttle orbiter acts as a glider and makes a completely unpowered landing. Five spaceworthy orbiters were build, of which three remain.

The Shuttle is the first orbital spacecraft considered for partial reusability. It carries large payloads to various orbits, provides crew rotary motion for the International Space Station (ISS), and performs servicing missions. The orbiter can also recover satellites and other payloads from orbit and return them to Earth, but this capability has not been used often. However, it has been used to return large payloads from the ISS to Earth, as the Russian Soyuz spacecraft has limited capacity for return payloads. Each Shuttle was designed for a expected lifespan of 100 launches or 10 years' operational life.

Hardware

Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a technology. It may also mean the physical components of a computer system.

Hardware historically meant the metal parts and fittings that were used to make wooden products stronger, more functional, longer lasting and easier to fabricate or assemble. In modern usage it includes equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, corners, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts, especially when they are made of metal. In the United States, this type of hardware has been traditionally sold in hardware stores, a term also used to a lesser extent in the UK.

In the electronics and especially computer industries, computer hardware specifically means the physical or tangible parts of the equipment, such as circuit boards, keyboards, monitors etc., in contrast to non-physical software running on the computer or other device.

In a more colloquial sense, hardware can refer to major items of military equipment, such as tanks, aircraft or ships.