Liftoff of Space Shuttle Columbia
Credit:
On April 12, 1981, space flight entered a new era with the
first launch
of
Space Shuttle Columbia,
shown above. NASA's Space Shuttles
land like a normal plane, carry a heavy cargo, carry a large crew,
make use of cheap solid fuel, and are reusable. Previous to this flight, no
manned orbiting space ship had ever landed on a runway. Space
Shuttles now are the flagships and the workhorses of
NASA's
space going rockets.