The alliance began taking over shuttle operations in 1996, when the space agency was seeking to turn more of its work over to private contractors.

If corrected for inflation, that is less money than shuttle operations were getting at the time of the 1986 Challenger disaster.

Fortunately, the old lake bed was quite uniform, so she didn't have to worry about the fine points of shuttle operation such as steering.

But the latest problem was certain to put new pressure on the beleaguered space agency and its efforts to restore regular shuttle operations.

Over time, demand rose so that a continuous shuttle operation had to be introduced.

That rescue operation was considered a landmark for shuttle operations.

The new company was to acquire the shuttle operation from Eastern for $225 million.

The shuttle operation, although good, can certainly be improved.

Eastern's shuttle operations will become an autonomous unit within the airline company.

Pan Am recently said it would consider selling the shuttle operation if it were not profitable.