Columbia lifted off from pad A at launch complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral, Florida), at 7:00:03 a.m. EST (eastern standard time) on April 12th, and landed on runway 23, Edwards Air Force Base (in the Mojave Desert, California), at 01:20:57 p.m. EST on April 14th. The average orbital altitude of the 36-orbit mission was  307 kilometers (166 nautical miles), with a perigee of about 240 kilometers and an apogee of about 251 kilometers.

The mission of STS-1 was to verify the worthiness of the Space Shuttle as a spacecraft  with respect to launch and ascent, orbit, de-orbit, and landing, and to check out the overall functioning of the Shuttle’s systems during these phases of spaceflight.

Although the first flight of the Space Shuttle was deemed a success several problems did arise during the flight of what is considered still in 2007 as the most complicated spacecraft ever built.

During descent into the Earth’s atmosphere, hot gases entered the right main landing gear well from an exposed gap in the thermal protection tiles near the right main landing gear. Also, several tiles on the orbiter’s aft end and two tiles on the nose were damaged. Other various tiles were either lost or damaged due to the ignition of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs). The hydraulic system was also damaged when the body flap below the main engines was pushed beyond its intended capacity. It was reported that during ascent, foam from the external tank (ET) was (supposedly) seen rushing past the orbiter’s windows.

The two astronauts also had to content with a faulty toilet during their two-day mission.

To see the launch of STS-1, go to: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=8147866533180818812.

The “STS-1 Orbiter Final Mission Report, August 1981, is found at: http://members.aol.com/WSNTWOYOU/STS1MR.HTM.

A recount of that April 12th launch day by James Oberg, who was part of the mission control team at the NASA Johnson Space Center, is found at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12243173/#060412b.

{moscomment}