Includes index

Preface -- Introduction -- Approach and landing tests : ALT-12 (free flight 1) to ALT-16 (free flight 5) -- First launch -> the Challenger tragedy : STS-1 (mission 1) to STS-51L (mission 25) -- New beginnings -> Hubble deployment : STS-26 (mission 26) to STS-61 (mission 59) -- Shuttle-Mir missions -> John Glenn's return to space : STS-60 (mission 60) to STS-95 (mission 92) -- The International Space Station construction begins -> the Columbia tragedy : STS-88 (mission 93) to STS-107 (mission 113) -- A second return to flight -> the final mission : STS-114 (mission 114) to STS-135 (mission 135) -- Afterword

"Stories and breathtaking photos of previous NASA space missions from monumental events to historical first"--