Space Shuttle: A Research Guide
A space shuttle is a reusable space aircraft that takes off like a rocket and lands like an airplane.
On April 12, 1981, the United States first space shuttle called Columbia blasted off. The shuttle
was the first reusable spaceship and the first spacecraft able to land at an ordinary airfield. Since
then there has been two space shuttle tragedies including the space shuttle Challenger that was
destroyed shortly after its launch on January 28, 1986 and Columbia that was destroyed in an
accident in midair on February 1, 2003. This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic
informational sources on the topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below
can be used to search for more materials in the library’s catalog and research databases. If you
need further assistance, please ask a librarian.
Books
Astronaut: Living in Space by Kate Hayden. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. ISBN:
078945422X.
Describes the various steps necessary for an astronaut to prepare for a flight into space and
follows astronaut Linda Gardner as she trains for her space shuttle mission.
The Challenger Disaster: Tragic Space Flight by Carmen Bredeson. Berkeley Heights, NJ:
Enslow, 1999. ISBN: 0766012220.
Describes the events surrounding the explosion of the Challenger shuttle in 1986, the
investigation of this disaster, and the seven astronauts who died.
Floating in Space by Franklyn Mansfield Branley and True Kelley. New York: HarperCollins,
1998. ISBN: 0060254327.
Examines life aboard a space shuttle, describing how astronauts deal with weightlessness, how
they eat and exercise, and some of the work that they do.
On the Shuttle: Eight Days in Space by Barbara Bondar and Roberta Lynn Bondar. Toronto:
Greey de Pencier Books, 1999. ISBN: 1895688124.
Day-by-day record of the Discovery mission.
The Space Shuttle by Allison Lassieur. New York: Children’s Press, 2000. ISBN: 0516220039.
Describes the beginnings of the space shuttle program, the layout of a shuttle, a day’s activities in
space, the Challenger disaster, and the role of a shuttle in building a space station.
Biographies
Christa McAuliffe: A Space Biography by Laura S. Jeffrey. Springfield, NJ: Enslow, 1998. ISBN:
0894909762.
A biography of the school teacher turned astronaut whose life was tragically ended when the
space shuttle Challenger exploded just after liftoff.
Shannon Lucid: Space Ambassador by. Carmen Bredeson. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press,
1998. ISBN: 0761304061.
Chronicles the life of the astronaut from her childhood in Oklahoma through her various space
shuttle missions to her six months aboard the Mir space station.
Space Challenger: The Story of Guion Bluford by James Haskins and Kathleen Benson.
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1984. ISBN: 0876142595.
A biography of Guy Bluford, the first black American in space, part of the crew of the space
shuttle “Challenger” on its August 1983 flight.
Magazine Articles
“Building a better shuttle: NASA turns to new designs and materials,” by Ron Cowen. Science
News, April 5, 2003. p215. Available at
www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1200/14_163/100110924/p1/article.jhtml.
“Why did the space shuttle burn up? (Columbia Disaster),” by Ron Cowen. Science News,
February 8, 2003. p83. Available at
www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1200/6_163/97997808/p1/article.jhtml.
Web Sites
How Space Shuttles Work
http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-shuttle.htm
Describes how space shuttles work.
Kennedy Space Center: Space Shuttle
www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/index.htm
This site includes Shuttle launch schedule, status reports, shuttle archives, shuttle factoids,
shuttle landings, a reference manual.
Lost: Space Shuttle Columbia
www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/shuttle/
CNN reports on the devastating loss of the space shuttle Columbia.
NASA Human Space Flight
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov
Behind-the-scenes, past and future mission information.
NASA Kids: The Space Shuttle
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Rockets/shuttle.asp
Learn how did the shuttles get their names, what the different parts of the shuttle are, and look at
some great shuttle pictures.
Space Shuttle Components
www.unitedspacealliance.com/shuttle/
Overview of the Space Shuttle and a clickable map of the shuttle but with more detail than the
site above.
The World Almanac for Kids Online: Space Shuttle
www.worldalmanacforkids.com/explore/space/spaceshuttle.html
Brief overview of the development and history of the space shuttle program.
Subject Headings
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astronauts
Challenger (spacecraft)
Columbia (spacecraft)
extraterrestrial environment—popular works
life support systems (space environment)
space exploration
space flight—physiological effect
space flight—popular works
space shuttles