It carried astronauts John Young (mission commander) and Robert Crippen (pilot) into orbit.
On April 12 in 1981, NASA launched its first space shuttle 'Columbia' into space. The craft carried only two crew members (John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen) into orbit and returned 54.5 hours later to the Earth. It became the first reusable manned spacecraft to travel into space.
The space shuttle was originally designed for launch two days earlier, however, it was postponed due to a technical fault. Coincidentally, it occurred on the 20th anniversary of Vostok 1, the first human spaceflight, performed by Yuri Gagarin for the USSR.
About the mission
The shuttle was launched early morning on April 12, 1981, from Kennedy Space Center. It was the first time that a NASA crewed launch used solid-fuel rockets.
The mission objective was to accomplish a safe ascent into orbit and then return to Earth for a safe landing of the Orbiter and crew.
Launch Director George Page wished the crew members during the final T−9 minute holding period: "John, we can't do more from the launch team than say, we wish you an awful lot of luck. We are with you one thousand percent and we are awful proud to have been a part of it. Good luck gentlemen."
Some interesting facts
The space shuttle had orbited the Earth 37 times before returning to the land.
The shuttle's construction began in 1975 and was completed in 1979.
Robert McCall designed the artwork for the official mission insignia.
It measured 122 feet long, 57 feet high, and 78 feet between the two wingtips.
Rush's song "Countdown" from the 1982 album 'Signals' is dedicated to astronauts Young and Crippen and all the people of NASA associated with the inaugural flight of Columbia.
