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Space Transportation System

(Encyclopedia)Space Transportation System, official designation for the U.S. space shuttle. ...

Webb Space Telescope

(Encyclopedia)Webb Space Telescope or James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is an infrared space telescope, the largest in space at its launc...

Cape Canaveral

(Encyclopedia)Cape Canaveral kənăvˈərəl [key], low, sandy promontory extending E into the Atlantic Ocean from a barrier island, E Fla., separated from Merritt Island by the Banana River, a lagoon; named (1963)...

Baikonur Cosmodrome

(Encyclopedia)Baikonur or Baykonur Cosmodrome both: bīˌkəno͞orˈ [key], formerly secret aerospace launch complex, Qyzylorda prov., S central Kazakhstan, near Baikonur (originally, 1958–95, Leninsk) but c.200 ...

Tanega-shima

(Encyclopedia)Tanega-shima tänāˈgä-shĭmä [key], island, 176 sq mi (456 sq km), off S Kyushu, Japan. Fishing and farming are important there. It is the site of Japan's main rocket launch center and a space sat...

Columbia, U.S. space shuttle

(Encyclopedia)Columbia, U.S. space shuttle. On its 28th flight, on Feb. 1, 2003, after completing a 16-day scientific mission, the spacecraft disintegrated during reentry, killing its seven-person crew. About 16 mi...

European Space Operations Center

(Encyclopedia)European Space Operations Center (ESOC): see European Space Agency. ...

European Space Research Institute

(Encyclopedia)European Space Research Institute (ESRIN): see European Space Agency. ...

European Space Research Organization

(Encyclopedia)European Space Research Organization (ESRO): see European Space Agency. ...

Space Force, United States

(Encyclopedia)Space Force, United States (USSF), military force that forms a separate service within the U.S. Dept. of the Air Force, est. Dec. 20, 2019, by act of Congress. The head of the Space Force is the Chief...