Less than ten years after the Space Shuttle Program ended, astronauts launched again from the same pad that STS-1 had launched. The last impacts of the program continue to this day. The Space Shuttle Program reached a close in 2011, ending 30 years of spaceflight. Many space shuttle missions brought modules and astronauts to the ISS, fostering a new sense of international cooperation. In 1998, space shuttle Endeavour met the Russian Zarya control module in orbit to begin construction on the International Space Station (ISS). Since these missions, Hubble has fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe. After NASA found an issue with the telescope's lens, five shuttle missions serviced the orbiting telescope to repair and improve the telescope. In 1990, space shuttle Discovery deployed the Hubble Space Telescope to begin studying the cosmos. In the early years of the program, the space shuttles deployed many satellites into orbit and carried labs in their payload bays for experiments.Īs the space shuttle continued to demonstrate mission success, NASA planned more ambitious missions. The shuttle and personnel of the Space Shuttle Program gave humanity greater access to space through numerous missions. The safe touchdown of space shuttle Columbia and crew on April 14 set the Space Shuttle Program on the path to a lasting legacy.Īs we honor the 40th anniversary of STS-1, we reflect on the accomplishments of the program that it launched. In addition to meeting this goal, STS-1 also completed over a hundred flight test objectives. The mission’s primary goal was for the Orbiter and crew to safely ascend, orbit, and return to Earth. This launch was the first time that astronauts would be aboard a crewed spacecraft’s very first flight. On April 12, 1981, astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen launched space shuttle Columbia from Kennedy Space Center. The space shuttle was a ship like no other. It demonstrated the success of new technologies and returned America to flight after the Apollo program ended. It was the first reusable spacecraft to carry humans to space. It launched like a rocket, handled like a spacecraft in orbit, and flew home like a glider. A revolutionary ship launched for the first time 40 years ago.
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