Rockwell International Space Shuttle Orbiter
Just look at the picture. Is there another aircraft that can do that? The answer’s no. Reckoned by some to be mankind’s most complex engineering achievement, the Space Shuttle Orbiter is undoubtedly one of them. What sticks in the mind is its ability to cope with extremes of power and environment that no other flying machine has endured. It remains the fastest, highest, winged aircraft ever built.
First flight: April 12, 1981
Principal operator: NASA
Last operational flight: 2011
