al order, as missions may be delayed and a later- numbered mission may have to take place before a previous can be rescheduled.

Five space shuttles were built. Of these, Discovery (first launch 1984), Atlantis(1985)and Endeavour (1992) remain in service. Challenger was destroyed during its 10th mission (STS-107) on 1 February 2003. Endeavour was named after a competition among American schoolchildren. Its name commemorates that of 18th-century British explorer Captain James Cook’s ship, which sank in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, in 1778.

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