The 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, which took the lives of 7 astronauts, changed NASA’s culture and risk-appetite forever. The organization’s focus shifted towards safer unmanned and more ...

NASA’s ambitious VentureStar was built to replace the Space Shuttle with a fully reusable, next-generation spacecraft — but technological failures and political battles brought the program to a halt.

A memo sent by the Smithsonian said transporting Discovery could swell in price and result in irreparable damage to the space shuttle. On paper, it reads like a riddle: How do you transport a 120-foot ...