This Day in History: Space Shuttle Columbia
On this day in 1995, the Space Shuttle Columbia takes to the skies, beginning a routine mission. Today, she is often remembered for her tragic final flight in February 2003. But do you know about Columbia’s very first flight? It was a daring gamble and has been called “one of the boldest test flights in history.”
It was then 1981, and no space shuttle had ever traveled to space—not even unmanned. NASA astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen boarded Columbia that day anyway, knowing they’d be the first to attempt it.
In fact, Young and Crippen undertook many “firsts” during their 54-hour mission.
“[It] was the first time astronauts launched on a vehicle that had not first been tested in an unmanned flight,” Crippen explained. “It was the first crewed vehicle to use solid rocket boosters, and it was the first [reusable] spacecraft to return to a landing on a runway.”
NASA considered making that initial flight unmanned, just to be safe, but her crew thought their presence critical to her success. “Maybe it’s because we were test pilots,” Crippen joked, “we thought that we could deal with anything.”
Thus, NASA sent Young, an experienced veteran of the Gemini and Apollo programs, along with Crippen, a “rookie” who had never been in space. Crippen later said that he was “really turning handsprings” when he discovered that he’d been tapped to go. He couldn’t believe his luck.
The launch was planned for April 10, but that attempt was scrubbed. A second try came early on April 12.
Crippen halfway expected that launch to be scrubbed, too, at least until the very last minute. “[I]t was only when the count got inside one minute that I turned to John and said, ‘I think we might actually do it,’” he later remembered.
The astronauts had ejection seats under them, but no one really knew if they could work. Crippen later speculated that such an ejection likely would have killed him on takeoff but might have come in handy during landing.
“It was probably one of the most exciting things in my life,” Crippen said of the launch. “It was rather noisy and shaky for about two minutes after liftoff.”
The astronauts confronted problems—both known and unknown—once they were under way.
A shock wave from the booster rockets had damaged a few struts, although no one realized it at the time. The damage could have been fatal, but fortunately just became an astonishing discovery after the mission. A more concerning problem was the thermal tiles discovered missing when the payload bay doors were opened in space. Nevertheless, engineers approved re-entry because the underside of the orbiter remained intact.
The descent must still have been a little nerve-wracking?
“When we came out of blackout,” Crippen described, “the ground got excited . . . the tiles must’ve been okay . . . . It was a beautiful day in California too, we could see Edwards Air Force Base, our landing site, from well over a hundred miles away.”
He thought the successful mission had come at just the right time, on the heels of Reagan’s assassination attempt and so many “bad events” in the 70s. “[S]o to finally have a success like that made us feel proud, and I think it made the country feel proud as well.”
NASA learned lessons, and future space shuttles adjusted. Columbia went to space again, of course, but she was always just a little bit different from the other orbiters. She was heavier; she had instrumentation they lacked. She was affectionately dubbed “the beloved black sheep of the fleet.”
Unfortunately, as you know, Columbia’s story ended tragically over the skies of Texas. Her story reflects sacrifices made—but also the daring, pioneering spirit that has always made America great.
A note for those who are interested: Some of you might know I am running an experiment in history reels. If you are so inclined, check out my YouTube channel and/or subscribe to those HERE. Don’t miss the reel I created about Baseball & the Electoral College, posted over the weekend.
Primary Sources:
Clara Moskowitz, Space Shuttle’s 1st Pilot: Q&A With Former NASA Astronaut Bob Crippen (Space.com; April 12, 2011)
George W. Bush, Address to the Nation on the Loss of Space Shuttle Columbia (Feb. 1, 2003)
John Uri, 40 Years Ago: Columbia Takes Flight! (NASA; Apr. 12, 2021)
Kelli Mars, 40 Years Ago: The Countdown Begins for STS-1; First Launch Attempt Scrubbed (NASA; April 5, 2021)
Linda Herridge, STS-1: Astronaut Bob Crippen Remembers the Ride of His Life (NASA)
Remembering the Columbia STS-107 Mission (NASA website)
Rocket Ranch Podcast: Episode 29: First Space Shuttle Flight (April 7, 2021) (interviewing Bob Crippen)
Ronald Reagan, Message to the Columbia Astronauts on the Inaugural Flight of the Space Shuttle (April 9, 1981)
STS-1 Forward RCS Oxidizer Tank Subsystem Failure Assessment (NASA)
The Flight of STS-1 (NASA)
Comments