On This Day in Space! April 14, 1981: 1st space shuttle mission lands, ,
On April 14, 1981, the first space shuttle mission returned to Earth after a two-day flight in space. The space shuttle Columbia safely touched down on Rogers dry lake at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where hundreds of thousands of people showed up to watch. Only two astronauts were on the shuttle: the pilot, Bob Crippen, and the commander, John Young.
Since this was the maiden voyage of the space shuttle, the only objective for this mission was to see if the shuttle could safely carry the crew to orbit and bring them back down to Earth. Some anomalies were reported, but Columbia and its crew came home safely.
This was the first time NASA landed a spacecraft on wheels, and the success of that landing made the space shuttle Columbia the world’s first reusable space vehicle.
Catch up on our entire “On This Day In Space” series on YouTube with this playlist.
[image error]
History of NASA: $22.99 at Magazines Direct
Discover the story of how and why NASA was created, its greatest triumphs, darkest days, and of the times it exceeded all possible hopes. A tale of adventure, heroism and resourcefulness, learn of the space agency’s greatest achievements and how — over six decades — the organization has consistently and tirelessly devoted itself to its founding principle: that “activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all humankind”. View Deal
Still not enough space? Don’t forget to check out our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week.
Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
The post On This Day in Space! April 14, 1981: 1st space shuttle mission lands, , appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.
