Lift-off of STS-1 - The First Shuttle Flight

Launch of Columbia in the shuttle program's first mission, referred to as STS-1.

Of that flight, NASA's Charlie Plain (of the Kennedy Space Center) wrote:

"Ultimately, STS-1 was a bold test flight to determine if a rocket launch into space could be a round-trip ticket. Adventure of that magnitude and discovery usually go hand in hand."

Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen, the mission's two-man crew, agreed. "We sure learned a lot," said Young. "When we got back, I think Chris Kraft [Johnson Space Center's Director] said it best: 'We just got infinitely smarter.'"