Introduction.
In 1981, the first space shuttle, Columbia, was launched in the USA. For the first time a spacecraft could go into space and return to earth, landing like a plane it could then be used again for another flight.
The shuttle plane called an orbiter, is launched attached to a giantfuel tank and two solid- fuel boosters.
The booster drop off at a height of 43 km. They drop into the sea and are rescued for re-use. 
At 115 km high, the fuel tank separates and burn up as it falls through Earth's atmosphere. It is the only part of the shuttle that is not re-used.