(1985) Medal Space Shuttle - Greatness in Space Silver

Coin Details

Description

The 1985 "Greatness in Space" silver medal is the program-wide companion piece in the Space Shuttle silver medal series, honoring the shuttle program as a whole rather than a specific orbiter. While the Columbia, Challenger, and Discovery medals in this series celebrate individual vehicles, the "Greatness in Space" issue takes a broader view, commemorating America's Space Transportation System as the world's first reusable spacecraft program and a defining achievement of late twentieth-century aerospace engineering. The obverse features imagery representing the Space Shuttle program's overarching mission of providing routine, economical access to low Earth orbit. The concept of a reusable spaceplane had been studied since the 1960s, and the shuttle that emerged from the development process — while more costly per launch than originally projected — nevertheless represented an extraordinary technological accomplishment. The system's three main components (orbiter, external tank, and solid rocket boosters) worked in concert to deliver up to 50,000 pounds of payload to orbit and return the orbiter for refurbishment and reuse. The reverse carries the "Greatness in Space" title with complementary imagery celebrating American leadership in space exploration. Like its companion pieces, this medal is struck in one troy ounce of .999 fine silver at 35mm diameter with a reeded edge bearing an individual serial number. The 1985 production date places it at the midpoint of the shuttle program's operational life — fourteen missions had been completed by year's end, with the tragic loss of Challenger still months away. In total, the Space Shuttle program would fly 135 missions between 1981 and 2011, carrying 355 individual astronauts from sixteen nations.

Rarity Notes

One troy ounce .999 fine silver, serialized on edge. Program-wide companion to the orbiter-specific medals. Limited mintage, exact figures not published.

Cross References

PCGS #974430; Space Shuttle program 1981-2011; 135 total missions