Astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen after landing, Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA, April 1981. US astronauts Young and Crippen were the two-man crew aboard the first orbiter, 'Columbia', STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1). It was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle programme. It launched on 12 April 1981 and returned on 14 April, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 36 times.