STS 1: First Shuttle Launch
Explanation:
On April 12, 1981, twenty years ago today, the
Space Shuttle Columbia
became
the first shuttle to orbit the Earth.
In this
gorgeous time exposure,
flood lights play on the Columbia and
service structures (left) as it rests atop
Complex 39's Pad A at
Kennedy Space Center in preparation for first launch.
Flown by
Commander John W. Young and Pilot Robert L. Crippen,
Colombia spent 2 days aloft on its check-out mission,
STS-1,
which ended in a smooth landing, airplane-style, at
Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Ferried back to Kennedy atop a
modified Boeing 747, Colombia was
launched again seven months later on
STS-2, becoming the first
piloted reuseable spacecraft.
The oldest operating shuttle, Columbia's 1981 debut was
followed in 1982 by shuttles
Challenger
(
destroyed in 1986),
Discovery in 1983,
Atlantis in 1985, and Challenger's replacement
Endeavour in 1991.
This shuttle fleet
has now
accomplished over 100 orbital missions.
Today also marks the
40th anniversary of the
first human in space,
Yuri Gagarin.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
