Each
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
space shuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
designation is composed of a prefix and suffix separated by a dash. The prefix for operational shuttles is OV, for
Orbiter Vehicle.
The suffix is composed of two parts: the series and the vehicle number.
Series:
- 0 - Non-flight ready shuttles
- 1 - Flight ready shuttles
The vehicle number is the sequentially assigned within the series, beginning with 1.
Each
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
space shuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
designation is composed of a prefix and suffix separated by a dash. The prefix for operational shuttles is OV, for
Orbiter Vehicle.
The suffix is composed of two parts: the series and the vehicle number.
Series:
- 0 - Non-flight ready shuttles
- 1 - Flight ready shuttles
The vehicle number is the sequentially assigned within the series, beginning with 1. Therefore, there can never be an OV-100 as it would read "Orbiter Vehicle Series 1 Vehicle 0".
Many proposals to build a second generation of orbiters, externally compatible with the current system but internally new, refer to them as "OV-200" or "OV-2xx" in order to differentiate them from the "current generation", the OV-100s. This terminology is informal, and it is unlikely that any Shuttle-derived vehicle built will be given such designation.
Orbiter Designations
- OV-098 - Space Shuttle Pathfinder
The Space Shuttle Orbiter Pathfinder is a Space Shuttle simulator made of steel and wood.-Activities:...
, a structural mockup
- OV-099 - Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia being the first. Its maiden flight was on April 4, 1983, and it completed nine missions before breaking apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, STS-51-L on January 28, 1986, resulting...
, originally STA-099
- OV-101 - Space Shuttle Enterprise
The Space Shuttle Enterprise was the first Space Shuttle orbiter. It was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform test flights in the atmosphere...
- OV-102 - Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it flew a total of 27 times before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 on the STS-107 mission , killing all seven...
- OV-103 - Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. When first flown in 1984, Discovery became the third operational orbiter, and is now the oldest orbiter in service...
- OV-104 - Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States...
- OV-105 - Space Shuttle Endeavour
Space Shuttle Endeavour is one of three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States. Endeavour is the fifth and final spaceworthy NASA space shuttle to be built, constructed as a replacement for Challenger...
Notes:
Challenger was originally intended to be used as a Structural Test Article, rather than a flight-capable orbiter; as such, the numbering was changed when she was rebuilt.
Enterprise, on the other hand, was intended to be rebuilt into a flight-capable orbiter; it was found to be cheaper to rebuild STA-099 than OV-101, so she remained unflown. The designations were not altered, despite these changes in fortune.
Note that while
Pathfinder is referred to as OV-098, she should not be confused with
MPTA-098The Main Propulsion Test Article was built by Rockwell International as a testbed for the definitive propulsion and fuel delivery systems for the U.S...
- the Main Propulsion Test Article, a steel frame (looking nothing like an Orbiter) used to test the Space Shuttle Main Engines.
Pathfinder was originally a "fit check" unit, a simple mockup resembling the production Orbiters in size, shape and weight, intended to be used to ensure that ground handling facilities would be sized to handle Orbiters. She was later rebuilt to resemble them cosmetically, and is currently on display with the
external tankA Space Shuttle External Tank is the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplies the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three space shuttle main engines in the orbiter...
used during the propulsion tests (designated
MPTA-ETThe Main Propulsion Test Article ET was built by NASA to be used in conjunction with MPTA-098 for structural tests of the Space Shuttle Main Engines prior to construction of flyable craft...
). To further add to the confusion, it appears that Pathfinder was never formally numbered, and the OV-098 designation is both unofficial
and retroactive. MPTA-098 was later rebuilt into the
Shuttle-CThe Shuttle-C was a NASA proposal to turn the Space Shuttle launch stack into a dedicated unmanned cargo launcher. This would use the Space Shuttle external tank and Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters , combined with a cargo module that would attach to Shuttle hardpoints and include the Space...
mockup during the 1990s; it is currently in storage at the Stennis Space Center.
In keeping with this theme, other pieces of ground hardware used by the Space Shuttle program have been given OV-xxx designations; these include:
- OV-095 - a mockup in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory
The Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory is a facility at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.It is the only facility in the Space Shuttle Program where actual orbiter hardware and flight software can be integrated and tested in a simulated flight environment...
(SAIL) at Johnson Space Center.
- MPTA-098 - the Main Propulsion Test Article, as above
- OV-106 - an administrative name given to the set of structural components manufactured to replace those used in the construction of Endeavour; however, the contract for these was cancelled shortly afterwards, and they were never completed.