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STS-1: America's first space shuttle mission
The space shuttle era was born on April 12, 1981 when astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen rode Columbia into Earth orbit from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A. The two-day flight proved the shuttle could get into space as a rocket and return safely with a runway landing. Following the voyage of STS-1, the two astronauts narrated this film of the mission highlights and told some of their personal thoughts on the flight.

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STS-2: First reusable spaceship
Seven months after the successful maiden voyage of space shuttle Columbia, astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly took the orbiter back into space on mission STS-2. The November 12, 1981 launch demonstrated that the space shuttle was the world's first reusable manned spacecraft. Although their mission would be cut short, Engle and Truly performed the first tests of the shuttle's Canadian-made robotic arm. The crew tells the story of the mission in this post-flight presentation.

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Shuttle Atlantis arrives back home after cross-country ferry flight trip

Space shuttle Atlantis returned home to the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, completing a two-day coast-to-coast piggyback ride atop a modified Boeing 747 ferrying jet that included rare stops in America's heartland.

The smooth touchdown on Runway 15 came at 8:27 a.m. EDT (1227 GMT), delivering Atlantis back to its homeport 25 days after blasting off with seven astronauts and a 36,000-pound power-generating module for the International Space Station.

Photo credit: Ben Cooper/Spaceflight Now











Photo credit: Ben Cooper/Spaceflight Now
 

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VIDEO: FLIGHT DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS MOVIE PLAY

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