At launch, it consisted of the "stack", including the dark orange external tank

(ET) (for the first two launches the tank was painted white);[23][24] two white,
slender solid rocket boosters (SRBs); and the Orbiter Vehicle, which contained
the crew and payload. Some payloads were launched into higher orbits with either
of two different upper stages developed for the STS (single-stage Payload Assis
t Module or two-stage Inertial Upper Stage). The Space Shuttle was stacked in th
e Vehicle Assembly Building, and the stack mounted on a mobile launch platform h
eld down by four frangible nuts[25] on each SRB, which were detonated at launch.
[26]
The Shuttle stack launched vertically like a conventional rocket. It lifted off
under the power of its two SRBs and three main engines, which were fueled by liq
uid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the ET. The Space Shuttle had a two-stage as
cent. The SRBs provided additional thrust during liftoff and first-stage flight.
About two minutes after liftoff, frangible nuts were fired, releasing the SRBs,
which then parachuted into the ocean, to be retrieved by ships for refurbishmen
t and reuse. The orbiter and ET continued to ascend on an increasingly horizonta
l flight path under power from its main engines. Upon reaching 17,500 mph (7.8 k
m/s), necessary for low Earth orbit, the main engines were shut down. The ET, at
tached by two frangible nuts[27] was then jettisoned to burn up in the atmospher
e.[28] After jettisoning the external tank, the orbital maneuvering system (OMS)
engines were used to adjust the orbit. The orbiter carried astronauts and paylo
ads such as satellites or space station parts into low Earth orbit, the Earth's
upper atmosphere or thermosphere.[29] Usually, five to seven crew members rode i
n the orbiter. Two crew members, the commander and pilot, were sufficient for a
minimal flight, as in the first four "test" flights, STS-1 through STS-4. The ty
pical payload capacity was about 50,045 pounds (22,700 kg) but could be increase
d depending on the choice of launch configuration. The orbiter carried its paylo
ad in a large cargo bay with doors that opened along the length of its top, a fe
ature which made the Space Shuttle unique among spacecraft. This feature made po
ssible the deployment of large satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope and
also the capture and return of large payloads back to Earth.
When the orbiter's space mission was complete, it fired its OMS thrusters to dro
p out of orbit and re-enter the lower atmosphere.[29] During descent, the orbite
r passed through different layers of the atmosphere and decelerated from hyperso
nic speed primarily by aerobraking. In the lower atmosphere and landing phase, i
t was more like a glider but with reaction control system (RCS) thrusters and fl
y-by-wire-controlled hydraulically actuated flight surfaces controlling its desc
ent. It landed on a long runway as a conventional aircraft. The aerodynamic shap
e was a compromise between the demands of radically different speeds and air pre
ssures during re-entry, hypersonic flight, and subsonic atmospheric flight. As a
result, the orbiter had a relatively high sink rate at low altitudes, and it tr
ansitioned during re-entry from using RCS thrusters at very high altitudes to fl
ight surfaces in the lower atmosphere.