Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 28th January 1986: An abstract smoke pattern after the space shuttle Challenger explosion, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.Dave Welcher/Hulton Archive/Getty Images NASA's space shuttle ...

Fifteen years ago today, the roar of engines and a pillar of fire lit up the Florida sky as Space Shuttle Discovery began its final journey into space.

While NASA celebrated the launch of its first Space Shuttle in 1981, the Soviet Union was racing to build its own orbital spacecraft using publicly available American technical data and Cold War intelligence gathering.

Fast forward to the present day. The Space Launch System has flown only once, during the Artemis I mission, and is preparing to fly again with Artemis II. According to the NASA Office of Inspector General, the Space Launch System costs $4 billion per flight, not to speak of the immense amount of money to develop the rocket.