Orbiter (L) Working Cargo Bay Door

In order to reduce the ever-increasing costs of space travel, NASA developed the Space Shuttle program that eventually resulted in six vehicles, with Columbia being the first to fly an operational mission in 1981. Over its nearly 30-year service record, two Shuttles have been lost, and three are still flyable, with the first prototype shuttle, Enterprise, at the Smithsonian museum.

Displayed here is the Space Shuttle Columbia, with its groundbreaking cargo bay doors open. This is the space shuttle presented as it would operate in orbit, unloading a payload long after the booster rocket and fuel tank array has fallen away. Painstaking craftsmanship ensures that this model will be a centerpiece item in any collection.