How the Space Shuttle orbiter caught Hollywood's imagination, shifting from a symbol of futuristic tech to a cinematic icon of survival.
The ultimate 80s shuttle fantasy. When a group of teenagers at a summer space camp are accidentally launched into orbit aboard the shuttle Atlantis, the film painted the orbiter as the total dream vehicle for a generation of kids.
The late 90s disaster saw the shuttle fleet as humanity's last way of defense. Modified, heavily armored shuttles like Freedom and Independence took center stage to deliver nuclear payloads to incoming asteroids.
A terrifying, stunning depiction of the shuttle era's vulnerability. The destruction of the fictional shuttle Explorer by space debris kicks off the tense survival story, serving a cinematic farewell to the real life program that retired in 2011.