SPACE SHUTTLE WITH BOOSTER
Scale: 1/288
Brand: ACADEMY
Item # 12707

Was kit #1639.

The exploration of space is mankind's last great adventure. With
man's first steps on the moon, the future of the Earth was
changed forever. However the first rockets to be designed for
space travel could only be used once. This was extremely costly
and it would soon become impractical to continue space trips in
such a wasteful manner.

In 1972, NASA, America's space agency, began development of a
reusable spaceship, calling it a Space Shuttle. This rocket plane
can be launched on the back of a huge 154 foot long tank, using
two booster rockets and its own three engines to climb into
space. The Shuttle itself is as large as a jetliner, and can
carry a crew of seven plus a large payload. Completely loaded,
the Shuttle, payload and launch tanks weight 4,500,000 lbs.

A fleet of Space Shuttles has broadened our ability to develop
activities in space. Now satellites can be launched directly from
a Shuttle, and soon they will be used for carrying sections of
the future space station into orbit to use as a launching point
for deep space exploration.