Timeline event · 12 April 1981 · The Space Shuttle Era
The First Space Shuttle Flight
Columbia lifts off on STS-1, the first flight of the Space Shuttle — the first reusable crewed spacecraft, twenty years to the day after Gagarin's flight.
Highlights
- ›First flight of a reusable spacecraft
Missions, people & worlds
Knowledge connections
- Part ofThe Space Shuttle Era
- Associated withSpace Shuttle program
- Associated withNASA
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.