alb3792385

STS-1, Space Shuttle Columbia at Launch Pad, 1981

Timed exposure of STS-1, at Launch Pad A, Complex 39, turns the space vehicle and support facilities into a night- time fantasy of light. Structures to the left of the shuttle are the fixed and the rotating service structure. STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on April 12, 1981 and returned on April 14, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times. Columbia carried a crew of two - mission commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen. It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. STS-1 was also the only maiden test flight of a new US spacecraft to carry a crew, though it was preceded by atmospheric testing of the orbiter and ground testing of the space shuttle system. The launch occurred on the 20th anniversary of the first-ever human spaceflight. This was a coincidence rather than a celebration of the anniversary; a technical problem had prevented STS-1 from launching two days earlier, as was planned.

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Title:

STS-1, Space Shuttle Columbia at Launch Pad, 1981

Caption:

Timed exposure of STS-1, at Launch Pad A, Complex 39, turns the space vehicle and support facilities into a night- time fantasy of light. Structures to the left of the shuttle are the fixed and the rotating service structure. STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on April 12, 1981 and returned on April 14, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times. Columbia carried a crew of two - mission commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen. It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. STS-1 was also the only maiden test flight of a new US spacecraft to carry a crew, though it was preceded by atmospheric testing of the orbiter and ground testing of the space shuttle system. The launch occurred on the 20th anniversary of the first-ever human spaceflight. This was a coincidence rather than a celebration of the anniversary; a technical problem had prevented STS-1 from launching two days earlier, as was planned.

Credit:

Album / NASA/Science Source

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Image size:

3360 x 4200 px | 40.4 MB

Print size:

28.4 x 35.6 cm | 11.2 x 14.0 in (300 dpi)

Keywords:

1980S • 1981 • 20 XX TWENTIETH CENTURY • 20TH CENTURY • 20TH • AEROSPACE • AMERICA • AMERICAN • ASTRONAUTICS • CELEBRITIES • CELEBRITY • COLUMBIA • COLUMBIAN • EVENT • EVENTS • FAMOUS PEOPLE • FAMOUS • FLIGHT • HISTORIC • HISTORICAL • HISTORY • IMPORTANT • JOHN F. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER • KSC • LAUNCH PAD A • LAUNCH PAD • MANNED SPACE FLIGHT • MISSION • NASA • NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION • NOTABLE • ORBITER VEHICLE • ORBITER • SCIENCE • SPACE EXPLORATION • SPACE FLIGHT • SPACE PROGRAM • SPACE SHIP • SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM • SPACE SHUTTLE • SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM • SPACE TRAVEL • SPACECRAFT • SPACEFLIGHT • SPACESHIP • STS • STS-1 • TECHNOLOGICAL • TECHNOLOGY • TWENTIETH CENTURY • UNITED STATES • US • USA • VEHICLE • WELL-KNOWN