STS-1

STS-1 Launches

Nearly 30 years ago this wee …

4/14/09

Description	Nearly 30 years ago this week, a new era in space flight began, when on April 12, 1981 the first shuttle mission was launched. STS-1 commander John Young had already flown in space four times, including a walk on the moon in 1972. Bob Crippen, the pilot, was a Navy test pilot who would go on to command three future shuttle missions. Image Credit: NASA
Date	4/14/09

STS-1 Launch

Title	STS-1 Launch
Full Description	The April 12 launch at Pad 39A of STS-1, just seconds past 7 a.m., carries astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, ending with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Date	4/12/1981
NASA Center	Kennedy Space Center

STS-1 Pre-Launch

Title	STS-1 Pre-Launch
Full Description	A timed exposure of the Space Shuttle, STS-1, at Launch Pad A, Complex 39, turns the space vehicle and support facilities into a night- time fantasy of light. Structures to the left of the Shuttle are the fixed and the rotating service structure.
Date	3/5/1981
NASA Center	Kennedy Space Center

The STS-1 Crew

Title	The STS-1 Crew
Full Description	The STS-1 crew members are: Commander, John W. Young and Pilot Robert L. Crippen.
Date	05/07/1979
NASA Center	Johnson Space Center

Space Shuttle -- March 1979

Taking advantage of a brief …

8/5/08

Description	Taking advantage of a brief period of microgravity afforded aboard a KC-135 flying a parabolic curve, the flight crew of the first space shuttle orbital flight test (STS-1) goes through a spacesuit-donning exercise. Astronaut John W. Young has just entered the hard-material torso of the shuttle spacesuit by approaching it from below. He is assisted by astronaut Robert L. Crippen. The torso is held in place by a special stand here, simulating the function provided by the airlock wall aboard the actual shuttle craft. The life support system is mated to the torso on Earth and remains attached to the torso during the flight.
Date	8/5/08

Offical portrait of STS-1 crew member John W. Young

Offical portrait of STS-1 cr …

Title	Offical portrait of STS-1 crew member John W. Young
Description	Offical portrait of STS-1 crew member John W. Young posing in ejection escape suit (EES) holding helmet.
Date Taken	1979-05-07

Offical portrait of STS-1 crew member Robert L. Crippen

Offical portrait of STS-1 cr …

Title	Offical portrait of STS-1 crew member Robert L. Crippen
Description	Offical portrait of STS-1 crew member Robert L. Crippen posing in ejection escape suit (EES) holding helmet.
Date Taken	1979-05-07

STS-1 Columbia on pad preparing for Flight Readiness firing

STS-1 Columbia on pad prepar …

Title	STS-1 Columbia on pad preparing for Flight Readiness firing
Description	STS-1 Columbia on pad showered with lights in a night time preparation for a Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) at Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
Date Taken	1981-03-31

Mission Control during rollout of STS-1 from VAB to launch complex 39

Mission Control during rollo …

Title	Mission Control during rollout of STS-1 from VAB to launch complex 39
Description	View of Mission Control during rollout of STS-1 from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to launch complex 39, Pad A.
Date Taken	1981-01-06

Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981

Launch view of the Columbia …

Title	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981
Description	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981. View Columbia begins to soar beyond launch pad 39A.
Date Taken	1981-04-20

STS-1 Prime crew debriefing activities with the Backup crew

STS-1 Prime crew debriefing …

Title	STS-1 Prime crew debriefing activities with the Backup crew
Description	STS-1 Prime crew debriefing activities with the Backup crew. Photo is of the Prime crew, John W. Young and Robert Crippen reviewing mission photography with Backup crew Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly.
Date Taken	1981-04-20

Launch view of the Columbia …

Title	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981
Description	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981. In this view, Columbia is past the scaffolding and headed for the sky.
Date Taken	1981-04-17

Launch view of the Columbia …

Title	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981
Description	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981. Views include Columbia just begining to liftoff (30462-3), Columbia is just begining to clear the scaffold (30464).
Date Taken	1981-04-17

Launch views of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981

Launch views of the Columbia …

Title	Launch views of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981
Description	Launch views of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981. In these views, Columbia is past the scaffolding and headed for the sky.
Date Taken	1981-04-17

Launch view of the Columbia …

Title	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981
Description	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981. View Columbia begins to soar beyond launch pad 39A.
Date Taken	1981-05-06

Public Affairs console in Mission Control during STS-1

Public Affairs console in Mi …

Title	Public Affairs console in Mission Control during STS-1
Description	View of the Public Affairs console in Mission Control during STS-1. From foreground to background are Harold S. Stall (with hand on console), William R. Robbins, and Gary A. Morrison at the end.
Date Taken	1981-06-18

STS-1 crew and backups are briefed on KSC slide wire system by G.W.S. Abbey

STS-1 crew and backups are b …

Title	STS-1 crew and backups are briefed on KSC slide wire system by G.W.S. Abbey
Description	STS-1 Commander John W. Young (left), wearing an ejection escape suit (EES), discusses launch tower emergency egress system (slidewire) with G.W.S. Abbey in front of the basket landing area at the base of a Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch tower. To the right of the slidewire basket are STS-1 Pilot Robert Crippen (in EES) and backups Richard Truly (in EES) and Joe Engle (in EES, far right) with their backs to the camera. View provided by KSC with an alternate KSC number 108-KSC-81PC-26.
Date Taken	1981-03-25

Crew activities around the orbiter after the landing of STS-1

Crew activities around the o …

Title	Crew activities around the orbiter after the landing of STS-1
Description	Astronaut Robert L. Crippen, right, is greeted by wife Virginia following landing of mission STS-1. Behind Mrs. Crippon is George W.S. Abbey, Director of Flight Operations at JSC (30850), Astronaut John W. Young, right, and Robert L. Crippen, center, are greeted by wives Susy and Virginia after completing STS-1 mission. Near left is George W. S. Abbey (30851).
Date Taken	1981-04-27

View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC …

Title	View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC activities
Description	View of STS-1 Launch Day Mission Control Center (MCC) activities. Photo is wide-angle view of Mission Control.
Date Taken	1981-04-13

View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC activities ending in a scrub on the mission

View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC …

Title	View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC activities ending in a scrub on the mission
Description	View of STS-1 Launch Day Mission Control Center (MCC) activities ending in a scrub on the mission. Photo is of controllers standing in the back of Mission Control with visitor seating in the background.
Date Taken	1981-04-10

View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC …

Title	View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC activities ending in a scrub on the mission
Description	View of STS-1 Launch Day Mission Control Center (MCC) activities ending in a scrub of the mission on Saturday April 11, 1981. Photo is wide-angle view of Mission Control.
Date Taken	1981-04-13

Detailed drawing of STS-1 Co …

Title	Detailed drawing of STS-1 Columbia
Description	This "cutaway" artist's concept exercises some artistic license to reveal systems of the major components of a Space Shuttle vehicle.
Date Taken	1981-04-22

Onboard Photo: Solid Rocket …

Name of Image	Onboard Photo: Solid Rocket Booster Separation
Date of Image	1981-04-12
Full Description	STS-1 Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation, taken by an onboard STS-1 camera.

Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck STS-1

Inflight activites of Young …

Title	Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck STS-1
Description	Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck areas during the STS-1 mission. Commander John W. Young mans the commander's station in the Columbia. A loose leaf notebook with flight activites data floats in the weightless environment (30419), Pilot Robert L. Crippen takes advantage of zero gravity to do some aerobics in the mid-deck area (30420), Young shaves his face in the mid-deck area. Food tray is mounted to the locker door at center (30421), Young cleans off his razor after shaving (30422), Crippen floats in zero gravity inside the orbiter. Clouds over the earth can be seen through the spacecraft's top viewing windows. Back side of the commander and pilot's seats can be seen at lower portion of the frame (30423).
Date Taken	1981-04-15

Views of STS-1 Prime Crew during classroom session before flight

Views of STS-1 Prime Crew du …

Title	Views of STS-1 Prime Crew during classroom session before flight
Description	Views of STS-1 Backup crew Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly during classroom session before flight of Columbia (29617), Prime Crew, backup crew and trainers using overhead projector during classroom session (29618,29620), Prime crew Commander John W. Young and Pilot Robert Crippen during classroom session (29619).
Date Taken	1981-04-06

Selected frames of the SRB separation during STS-1 launch path

Selected frames of the SRB s …

Title	Selected frames of the SRB separation during STS-1 launch path
Description	Selected frames of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation during STS-1 launch path. Views include scenes taken by a 16mm camera mounted in the umbilical walls of the Columbia's external fuel tanks. View is of the separation of the SRB on the left side at an altitude of 24 nautical miles (30504,30506), separation of the external tank following the shutdown of the vehicle's three main engines (30505,30509), begining of the separation of the SRBs at an altitude of 24 nautical miles. Much of this photo is of the aft dome of the external tank (30507-8).
Date Taken	1981-04-20

Crew activities around the o …

Title	Crew activities around the orbiter after the landing of STS-1
Description	Astronaut Robert L. Crippen, right, is greeted by wife Virginia following landing of mission STS-1. Behind Mrs. Crippon is George W.S. Abbey, Director of Flight Operations at JSC (30850), Astronaut John W. Young, right, and Robert L. Crippen, center, are greeted by wives Susy and Virginia after completing STS-1 mission. Near left is George W. S. Abbey (30851).
Date Taken	1981-04-27

STS-1 Columbia, OV-102, at KSC LC Pad undergoes preflight processing at night

STS-1 Columbia, OV-102, at K …

Title	STS-1 Columbia, OV-102, at KSC LC Pad undergoes preflight processing at night
Description	Spotlights illuminate the Launch Complex (LC) Pad at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) during preflight operations and servicing of Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102. This timed exposure shows the night operations prior to the STS-1 mission aboard OV-102. Lit up against the night time darkness are OV-102, its white external tank (ET), and its two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) atop the mobile launcher platform. Cranes appear in front of the retracted rotating service structure (RSS) at the left. The access arm (catwalk) is extended from the fixed service structure (FSS) to OV-102's side hatch. View provided by KSC with alternate KSC number 108-KSC-81PC-138.
Date Taken	1987-01-29

Columbia Commander John Youn …

Title	Columbia Commander John Young
Full Description	John W. Young, STS-1 mission Commander, prepares to log flight-pertinent data in a loose-leaf flight activities notebook onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Young is seated in the commander's station on the port side of Columbia's forward flight deck.
Date	04/14/1981
NASA Center	Johnson Space Center

Mission Control Activities d …

Title	Mission Control Activities during the STS-1 Mission
Description	Mission Control Activities during the STS-1 Mission. View is of the Flight Directors console.
Date	04.14.1981

View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC …

Title	View of STS-1 Launch Day MCC activities
Description	View of STS-1 Launch Day Mission Control Center (MCC) activities. Photo is wide-angle view of Mission Control.
Date	04.13.1981

View of STS-1 payload bay and aft section

View of STS-1 payload bay an …

Title	View of STS-1 payload bay and aft section
Description	Cargo bay and aft section of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia photographed through the flight deck's aft windows. In the lower right corner is one of the vehicle's radiator panels. Some of the thermal tiles are missing from the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods which flank the vertical stabilizer at left edge of the photograph. A collection of possible support equipment is housed in the box-like devices (lower left) known as the development flight instrument pallet. The pentagon-shaped glare at upper left is caused by window reflection.
Date Taken	1981-04-13

Inflight activites of Young …

Title	Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck STS-1
Description	Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck areas during the STS-1 mission. Commander John W. Young mans the commander's station in the Columbia. A loose leaf notebook with flight activites data floats in the weightless environment (30419), Pilot Robert L. Crippen takes advantage of zero gravity to do some aerobics in the mid-deck area (30420), Young shaves his face in the mid-deck area. Food tray is mounted to the locker door at center (30421), Young cleans off his razor after shaving (30422), Crippen floats in zero gravity inside the orbiter. Clouds over the earth can be seen through the spacecraft's top viewing windows. Back side of the commander and pilot's seats can be seen at lower portion of the frame (30423).
Date Taken	1981-04-15

Views of STS-1 Prime Crew du …

Title	Views of STS-1 Prime Crew during classroom session before flight
Description	Views of STS-1 Backup crew Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly during classroom session before flight of Columbia (29617), Prime Crew, backup crew and trainers using overhead projector during classroom session (29618,29620), Prime crew Commander John W. Young and Pilot Robert Crippen during classroom session (29619).
Date Taken	1981-04-06

Inflight activites of Young …

Title	Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck STS-1
Description	Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck areas during the STS-1 mission. Commander John W. Young mans the commander's station in the Columbia. A loose leaf notebook with flight activites data floats in the weightless environment (30419), Pilot Robert L. Crippen takes advantage of zero gravity to do some aerobics in the mid-deck area (30420), Young shaves his face in the mid-deck area. Food tray is mounted to the locker door at center (30421), Young cleans off his razor after shaving (30422), Crippen floats in zero gravity inside the orbiter. Clouds over the earth can be seen through the spacecraft's top viewing windows. Back side of the commander and pilot's seats can be seen at lower portion of the frame (30423).
Date Taken	1981-04-15

Inflight activites of Young …

Title	Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck STS-1
Description	Inflight activites of Young and Crippen in the cockpit and middeck areas during the STS-1 mission. Commander John W. Young mans the commander's station in the Columbia. A loose leaf notebook with flight activites data floats in the weightless environment (30419), Pilot Robert L. Crippen takes advantage of zero gravity to do some aerobics in the mid-deck area (30420), Young shaves his face in the mid-deck area. Food tray is mounted to the locker door at center (30421), Young cleans off his razor after shaving (30422), Crippen floats in zero gravity inside the orbiter. Clouds over the earth can be seen through the spacecraft's top viewing windows. Back side of the commander and pilot's seats can be seen at lower portion of the frame (30423).
Date Taken	1981-04-15

Views of STS-1 Prime Crew du …

Title	Views of STS-1 Prime Crew during classroom session before flight
Description	Views of STS-1 Backup crew Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly during classroom session before flight of Columbia (29617), Prime Crew, backup crew and trainers using overhead projector during classroom session (29618,29620), Prime crew Commander John W. Young and Pilot Robert Crippen during classroom session (29619).
Date Taken	1981-04-06

Views of STS-1 Prime Crew du …

Title	Views of STS-1 Prime Crew during classroom session before flight
Description	Views of STS-1 Backup crew Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly during classroom session before flight of Columbia (29617), Prime Crew, backup crew and trainers using overhead projector during classroom session (29618,29620), Prime crew Commander John W. Young and Pilot Robert Crippen during classroom session (29619).
Date Taken	1981-04-06

Selected frames of the SRB s …

Title	Selected frames of the SRB separation during STS-1 launch path
Description	Selected frames of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation during STS-1 launch path. Views include scenes taken by a 16mm camera mounted in the umbilical walls of the Columbia's external fuel tanks. View is of the separation of the SRB on the left side at an altitude of 24 nautical miles (30504,30506), separation of the external tank following the shutdown of the vehicle's three main engines (30505,30509), begining of the separation of the SRBs at an altitude of 24 nautical miles. Much of this photo is of the aft dome of the external tank (30507-8).
Date Taken	1981-04-20

Selected frames of the SRB s …

Title	Selected frames of the SRB separation during STS-1 launch path
Description	Selected frames of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation during STS-1 launch path. Views include scenes taken by a 16mm camera mounted in the umbilical walls of the Columbia's external fuel tanks. View is of the separation of the SRB on the left side at an altitude of 24 nautical miles (30504,30506), separation of the external tank following the shutdown of the vehicle's three main engines (30505,30509), begining of the separation of the SRBs at an altitude of 24 nautical miles. Much of this photo is of the aft dome of the external tank (30507-8).
Date Taken	1981-04-20

Selected frames of the SRB s …

Title	Selected frames of the SRB separation during STS-1 launch path
Description	Selected frames of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation during STS-1 launch path. Views include scenes taken by a 16mm camera mounted in the umbilical walls of the Columbia's external fuel tanks. View is of the separation of the SRB on the left side at an altitude of 24 nautical miles (30504,30506), separation of the external tank following the shutdown of the vehicle's three main engines (30505,30509), begining of the separation of the SRBs at an altitude of 24 nautical miles. Much of this photo is of the aft dome of the external tank (30507-8).
Date Taken	1981-04-20

Selected frames of the SRB s …

Title	Selected frames of the SRB separation during STS-1 launch path
Description	Selected frames of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) separation during STS-1 launch path. Views include scenes taken by a 16mm camera mounted in the umbilical walls of the Columbia's external fuel tanks. View is of the separation of the SRB on the left side at an altitude of 24 nautical miles (30504,30506), separation of the external tank following the shutdown of the vehicle's three main engines (30505,30509), begining of the separation of the SRBs at an altitude of 24 nautical miles. Much of this photo is of the aft dome of the external tank (30507-8).
Date Taken	1981-04-20

Launch view of the Columbia …

Title	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981
Description	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981. View include main engine ignition on Columbia (30498), Columbia begins its liftoff (30499-500,30503), close-up view of orbiter on its solid rocket booster (30501), close-up of tail end of orbiter as solid rocket boosters ignite (30502), .
Date Taken	1981-04-20

Launch view of the Columbia …

Title	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981
Description	Launch view of the Columbia for the STS-1 mission, April 12, 1981. View include main engine ignition on Columbia (30498), Columbia begins its liftoff (30499-500,30503), close-up view of orbiter on its solid rocket booster (30501), close-up of tail end of orbiter as solid rocket boosters ignite (30502), .
Date Taken	1981-04-20

Crew activities around the o …

Title	Crew activities around the orbiter after the landing of STS-1
Description	Astronaut Robert L. Crippen egresses the Shuttle Columbia following touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base. Astronaut John W. Young can be seen standing at the foot of the steps with George W.S. Abbey, Director of Flight Operations at JSC. Dr. Craig L. Fischer, chief of the Medical Operations Branch at jSC follows Crippen down the steps (30852), Young talks with Abbey enroute to the van at right which will take him and fellow crewmember Crippen to facilities at nearby Dryden Flight Research Center (30853).
Date Taken	1981-04-27

Views of the Columbia being returned to KCS after STS-1

Views of the Columbia being …

Title	Views of the Columbia being returned to KCS after STS-1
Description	Views of the Columbia being returned to Kennedy Space Center after STS-1. Views include Columbia atop a Boeing 747 aircraft titled NASA 905 sitting on the runway at Kennedy Space Center, with the center in the background (32624), Columbia arriving at Kennedy mated to the NASA 905 (32625), NASA 905 preparing to liftoff for Kennedy with Columbia sitting atop it. A chase plane can be seen in the background (32626).
Date Taken	1981-06-10

Views of the Columbia being …

Title	Views of the Columbia being returned to KCS after STS-1
Description	Views of the Columbia being returned to Kennedy Space Center after STS-1. Views include Columbia atop a Boeing 747 aircraft titled NASA 905 sitting on the runway at Kennedy Space Center, with the center in the background (32624), Columbia arriving at Kennedy mated to the NASA 905 (32625), NASA 905 preparing to liftoff for Kennedy with Columbia sitting atop it. A chase plane can be seen in the background (32626).
Date Taken	1981-06-10

Views of the Columbia being …

Title	Views of the Columbia being returned to KCS after STS-1
Description	Views of the Columbia being returned to Kennedy Space Center after STS-1. Views include Columbia atop a Boeing 747 aircraft titled NASA 905 sitting on the runway at Kennedy Space Center, with the center in the background (32624), Columbia arriving at Kennedy mated to the NASA 905 (32625), NASA 905 preparing to liftoff for Kennedy with Columbia sitting atop it. A chase plane can be seen in the background (32626).
Date Taken	1981-06-10

STS 1 Shuttle Columbia firing main engines

STS 1 Shuttle Columbia firin …

Title	STS 1 Shuttle Columbia firing main engines
Description	Long range view of STS 1 Shuttle Columbia firing main engines prior to launch.
Date Taken	1981-03-20

STS-1 crew, State and White House dignitaries during crew return at Ellington

STS-1 crew, State and White …

Title	STS-1 crew, State and White House dignitaries during crew return at Ellington
Description	Astronaut Robert L. Crippen, center, addresses a large turnout of greeters at Ellington Air Force Base following return of Columbia's crew from Dryden. Astronaut John W. Young stands near his wife Suzy at right center. Crippen's wife Virginia and children are standing behind the Youngs on the platform. Others seen include Presidental aids Jim Baker, Houston Mayor Jim McConn, NASA Administrator (acting) Alan M. Lovelace, John F. Yardley, associate administrator for Space Transportation Systems, Dr. Crhisotpher C. Kraft, Jr. JSC Director, flight directors Neil B. Hutchinson, Charles L. Lewis and Donald R. Puddy and Robert F. Thompson, Manager of Space Shuttle Program Office.
Date Taken	1981-05-04

Media Group: STS-1