One of the main elements of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS ... but those don’t make a rocket stage any more than the Shuttle External Tank did by itself. (Photo Caption: Major join 2 of ...

Time-lapse of Space Shuttle Endeavour stacked with an external tank and pair of solid rocket boosters for a exhibit at the ...

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of the Space Shuttle ... from the external rocket tank during launch, which opened a hole in a shuttle wing ...

I address you here this afternoon at 11:40 a.m. This morning Space program experienced a national tragedy with the explosion of the space shuttle ... surface of the external tank and the lower ...

For millions, it was an event that would be seared into their memories for the rest of their lives – on par with the Kennedy assassination and 9/11.