STS-1
STS-1 was the first orbital flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the first spaceflight of orbiter Columbia. John Young commanded the mission with Robert Crippen as pilot, launching from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A on April 12, 1981. The flight tested Columbia's ascent, on-orbit systems, payload-bay doors, thermal protection, flight-control behavior, reentry, and runway landing profile. Columbia landed at Edwards Air Force Base on April 14 after two days in orbit, proving that the reusable Shuttle orbiter could complete an orbital mission and return to a runway.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Space Transportation System 1Columbia OFT-1
- Name
- STS-1
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- Description
- STS-1 was the first orbital flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the first spaceflight of orbiter Columbia. John Young commanded the mission with Robert Crippen as pilot, launching from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A on April 12, 1981. The flight tested Columbia's ascent, on-orbit systems, payload-bay doors, thermal protection, flight-control behavior, reentry, and runway landing profile. Columbia landed at Edwards Air Force Base on April 14 after two days in orbit, proving that the reusable Shuttle orbiter could complete an orbital mission and return to a runway.
- End Date
- 1981-04-14
- Landing Facility
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Completed. Columbia reached orbit, completed the first Shuttle orbital flight test, and landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1981-04-12
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://www.nasa.gov/mission/sts-1/
- Wikipedia Url
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-1
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- April 26, 2026 at 15:52:15 UTC
- Updated Time
- July 29, 2026 at 08:53:12 UTC
- Image
- Download
Other
- Affiliations
- Search Name
- STS-1 Space Transportation System 1 Columbia OFT-1
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles