Watch : Mining the Moon for rocket fuel. Queen guitarist Brian May and David Eicher launch new astronomy book. Last chance to join our Costa Rica Star Party! Learn about the Moon in a great new book New book chronicles the space program. Dave's Universe Year of Pluto. Groups Why Join? Astronomy Day. The Complete Star Atlas. Only 20 years — to the day — after the first human ventured to space, Columbia became the first reusable space shuttle to take humans into orbit. The first mission of the Space Shuttle Program, STS-1, blasts off from launch pad 39A on April 12, , attempting to kick off a new era of rapid access to space.
Elegant but risky Young knew strapping himself atop tons of highly explosive propellants meant to blast him into space was dangerous.
The escape would give them the worst headache, Young mused darkly, albeit a short one. As space shuttle Discovery soars into the clouds during STS, seen here, its three main engines produce blue cones of light known as mach diamonds, formed due to interacting shock waves in the exhaust plume.
Not without its flaws For all its triumphs, STS-1 was not a perfect success. Martian floods filled Jezero Crater, Perseverance finds. Is exploring space hazardous to our health? James Webb Space Telescope: How, when, and why it's launching. Perseverance samples its first two rocks. How astronauts go to the bathroom in outer space.
How Mars rover drivers navigate the Red Planet. Did static electricity — not Gus Grissom — blow the hatch of the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft? Cosmos: Origin and Fate of the Universe. Astronomy's Moon Globe. Galaxies by David Eicher. Astronomy Puzzles. Jon Lomberg Milky Way Posters. Astronomy for Kids. Sign up. Table of Contents Subscribe Digital Editons. Astronauts John W. Crippen, pilot, were aboard Columbia as it begins a hour orbital mission. In this image, the two solid rocket boosters are aglow after being jettisoned.
They are: right to left, astronauts John W. Young, Robert L. Crippen, Joe H. Engle, Richard H. Truly, Fred W. Haise Jr. Lousma, Vance D. Just as they had done two days earlier, Young and Crippen awoke before dawn to a steak-and-eggs breakfast, reported to pad 39A, and climbed into their seats on Columbia's flight deck.
This time, the countdown went without a hitch, and at 3 seconds past 7 a. Despite flying slightly higher than its planned trajectory, the vehicle performed up to expectations, with a flawless separation of the Shuttle's solid rocket boosters and external tank.
After about 10 minutes of ascent, Columbia became the heaviest spacecraft and first winged craft to reach orbit. In Orbit Columbia's orbit flight would test the vehicle's performance as a reusable spacecraft thanks to the help of two equipment packages within the Shuttle's payload bay.
The Developmental Flight Instrumentation and the Aerodynamic Coefficient Identifications Package pallet recorded temperatures, pressures, acceleration levels, and other forces on the craft throughout the flight. Another key test involved the successful operation of the massive payload bay doors, which are essential to the Shuttle's cargo capability.
The astronauts successfully opened and closed both doors before Columbia achieved its final orbital altitude, and they reopened the payload bay for the rest of the flight.
Though the payload bay doors were opened without incident, their successful operation provided a clear view of the craft's Orbital Maneuvering System OMS pods, which showed signs of heat-shield tile damage. Mission Control counted 15 tiles missing from the OMS pods, which contained the vehicles in-orbit thrusters. Houston determined that the missing tiles would not present any problem, but mission controllers did not know if there was extensive tile damage on the orbiter's underside, an area more sensitive to reentry heating.
As the rest of the flight passed, Columbia's thrusters operated without problem and helped put the vehicle in a stable, nose-down orbit. While traveling at 5 miles per second, the astronauts enjoyed spectacular views of Earth, the weightless experience of microgravity, and a phone call from Vice President George H. Reentry and Landing Prior to Columbia's planned reentry, Young and Crippen awoke to an alarm sounding that one of the auxiliary power units APUs was getting colder.
These APUs provide power to flight control systems during liftoff and landing but are turned off during the flight and kept warm so they can be restarted. Columbia had two backup power units, and mission controllers deemed that the unit was not yet cold enough to pose a significant problem. On its 34th orbit, the first Space Shuttle mission prepared for its deorbit burn and reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
John Young successfully activated the APUs, and Columbia's thrusters fired over the Indian Ocean, slowing the craft down and causing it to lose altitude. Houston was cut off from the orbiter as the intense heat of reentry ionized gas around the vehicle and blocked radio signals for about 15 minutes.
Finally, Columbia was picked up on radar, and Young reported that all systems were functioning perfectly. Just after a. The First Reuse of the Space Transportation System The story of the first Shuttle mission would not be complete without a mention of another "first" that followed the flight: the first reuse of a piloted space vehicle. In reality, the end of STS-1 was just the beginning of more than successful Space Shuttle missions to come.
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