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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Wiki
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Space Shuttle Columbia
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Space Shuttle Columbia
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{{MobileMode}} [[File:600px-STS-109_launch.jpg|thumb|288px|Columbia launch]] == History == === Construction === <font color="silver" size="7" face="David">C</font>onstruction began on ''Columbia'' in 1975 primarily in palmdale, California. Columbia was named after the Boston, Massachusetts based sloop. The name also honored ''Columbia'', the Apollo Command/Service Module of Apollo 11. After construction, the orbiter arrived at [[John F. Kennedy Space Center]] on March 25, 1979, to prepare for its first launch. On March 19, 1981, during preparations for a ground test,two workers were asphyxiated during a nitrogen purge, resulting in two deaths. === First Flights === <font color="silver" size="7" face="David">T</font>he first flight of ''Columbia'' [[STS-1]] was commanded by [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]] (a space veteran from the [[Project Gemini]] and [[Project Apollo]] and piloted by [[Robert Crippen]], who had never been in space before, but who served as a support crew member for the [[Skylab]] missions and [[Apollo-Soyuz]]. It launched on April 12, 1981, the 20th anniversary of [[human spaceflight]], and returned on April 14, 1981, after orbiting the Earth 36 times. ''Columbia'' then undertook three further research missions to test its technical characteristics and performance. Its first operational mission, with a four-man crew, was [[STS-5]], which launched on November 11, 1982. At this point ''Columbia'' was joined by [[Space Shuttle Challenger]], which performed the next three shuttle missions. In 1983, ''Columbia'' undertook its second operational mission [[STS-9]], this time with six astronauts, including the first non-American astronaut on a space shuttle, [[Ulf Merbold]]. ''Columbia'' was not used for the next three years, during which time the shuttle fleet was expanded to include [[Space Shuttle Discovery]] and [[Space Shuttle Atlantis]]. ''Columbia'' returned to space on January 12, 1986, with the launch of [[STS-61-C]]. The mission's crew included Dr. [[Franklin R. Chang-Diaz]], as well as the first sitting member of the United States House of Representatives| to venture into space, Bill Nelson. === Challenger === <font color="silver" size="7" face="David">T</font>he next shuttle mission was undertaken by ''Challenger''. It was launched on January 28, 1986, ten days after [[STS-61-C]] had landed. The mission ended in [[Space Shuttle Challenger]] shortly after launch. In the aftermath NASA's shuttle timetable was disrupted, and ''Columbia'' was not flown again until 1989 on [[STS-28]], after which it resumed normal service as part of the shuttle fleet. [[STS-93]], launched on July 23, 1999, was commanded by Lt. Col. [[Eileen Collins]]. [[Category:Space Shuttle]] [[Category:Retired]]
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