here's more trivia for space shuttles and their operations.. in layman's terms..
How is the space shuttle configured and operated?
The space shuttle system consists of a main liquid fuel tank, two solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and the shuttle orbiter. When the shuttle is launched, the orbiter and SRBs are attached to the main fuel tank, and the tank fuels the orbiter’s three main engines. A few minutes after launch, the SRBs exhaust their fuel, detach from the main tank, and fall into the ocean; a parachute system slows their fall, and they are recovered for use in future launches. The main tank and orbiter stay together until low Earth orbit is achieved. When the main tank is empty, it is detached as well. It cannot be recovered and generally burns up in the atmosphere. The orbiter, with astronauts aboard, then goes on to complete the mission. This 184-foot (56-meter) long vessel contains engines, rocket boosters, living and work quarters for up to eight crew members, and a cargo bay large enough to hold a large school bus. It also has wings and is aerodynamically designed to be able to glide back to Earth from orbit, landing like an airplane on any runway long enough to accommodate a commercial jumbo jet.
Source: The Handy Astronomer Answer Book, by Charles Liu