On this sad anniversary in space history, I look to the positives of humanities future.
Tag: columbia
The Greatest Test Flight – STS-1
The Columbia Disaster: My Memories And Experience
On the morning of February 1st, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was set to return from it’s 28th mission, STS-107. At 7:59 AM Central time the orbiter disintegrated on re-entry due to damage it had sustained on its left wing during launch on January 16th. In this article, I tell the story from my perspective. […]
Columbia
15 Years Ago: The Launch Of Columbia On STS-107
15 years ago today the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off on what was to become its last mission, STS-107. This flight carried a crew of 7 not to the International Space Station – Columbia was far too heavy for the orbital inclination the Space Station orbits at – but a simple Earth Orbit mission for […]
1977 U.S. Air Force Space Shuttle Overview
The Space Shuttle wasn’t just the NASA follow up to Apollo – oh no, it was intended to replace all expendable launch vehicles, both those in use by NASA for civilian payloads and military launches. The specifications of the payload bay and the overall design of the shuttle were driven by military payload requirements, namely […]
36 Years Ago – The Launch Of Columbia On STS-1
Last year I covered the launch of STS-1, the first flight of the Space Shuttle Program, with a more in-depth article which you can find in the link below. Today, I thought it would be better to share just a fragment of that historic, albeit somewhat forgotten mission, by focusing on the launch of the […]
The Space Shuttle: A Remarkable Flying Machine – 1981 NASA Film
This film, produced in 1981, follows the first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-1, April 12th to 14th of 1981. The video tells the general story of the 4 day mission, while also going over details on the general operations of the then new Space Shuttle. One of the best things about this […]
Space Shuttle Design & Construction – 1976 Educational Documentary
Back in the 1970’s, NASA began a transition from the Apollo program, using expendable rockets and single-use capsules, to an idea known as the Space Shuttle – a reusable space plane to carry crew and cargo into orbit at a fraction of the cost of traditional boosters. Of course, 40 years later, we all know […]
35 Years Ago, Columbia – The First Space Shuttle Flight
On April 12th, 1981, 20 years to the day from Yuri Gagarin’s history making Vostok 1 flight came the first flight of the Space Transportation System, more commonly known as the Space Shuttle. It was pure coincidence, as the Shuttle was originally scheduled to fly in 1979, but delay after delay, even up to the […]