Historical Events  Science
Space shuttle booster

Alternate:
Booster tips sharply pointed

Current:
Booster tips rounded

Boosters look different

Some people are reporting the appearance of the Space Shuttle, and specifically it's external boosters, has changed from the way they remember. They are saying the tip has changed from being rounded to sharply pointed, the color now being two shades of orange rather than one, and some new rings appearing near the booster's engines.

This isn't the only time the Space Shuttle has featured as a Mandela Effect - there is one concerning the Challenger explosion date, too.

An image search for the Space Shuttle tank on Google shows the details of what appears to have changed.

NASA

Each shuttle launch cost about half a billion dollars.There were 135 missions in total, across all 5 vehicles. Two of the 5 were destroyed in service, and a total of 13 people died during these missions. These aren't great numbers which every way you look at them.

One reason they were so expensive was the external tanks they used for the fuel system. These couldn't be reused, although the booster rockets could if there weren't too damaged from recovery once jettisoned into the sea. Some of the technology was designed in the 1970's,  which didn't really change much as each new shuttle was built. The rumour NASA had to find parts on eBay at one point because the hardware was so obsolete is unfortunately true.

The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) were only active for 2 minutes. This covered the crucial first part of the launch, and at an altitude of 67km, parachutes attached to them were deployed as they returned to earth, leaving the Shuttle to continue it's mission.

People say they remember the shape of these boosters, the decor, and the color to be completely different to the ones seen on video and in photographs today.