WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

S81-30499 (12 April 1981) --- Space shuttle Columbia flies. Just seconds past the scheduled launch time of 7 a.m. on April 12, 1981, America's Space Transportation System becomes a fact, with the liftoff of the first space shuttle from Launch Pad 39A. The successful maiden flight of the new concept in space vehicles took astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth-orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, concluding with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California.