Every Flight is a Mission to Planet Earth
When the Space Shuttle Columbia first rocketed into space on a pillar of fire in April 1981, it was the maiden voyage of the world’s first re-useable spacecraft. Launched nine years after the last Apollo voyage to the Moon and six years after the joint Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the shuttle was built to ferry humans and cargo into low-Earth orbit. It was part space plane, part rocket-propelled pick-up truck, and part orbiting launch platform.
The Space Shuttle launched major satellites that helped revolutionize our study of the Earth. Its on-board experiments provided discoveries and new climatologies never before available. It provided for multiple flight opportunities for highly calibrated instruments to help verify results from satellites. Shuttle flights provided for on-orbit demonstration of techniques that helped pave the way for subsequent instruments and satellites. The shuttle enabled international cooperation.
When the Space Shuttle Columbia first rocketed into space on a pillar of fire in April 1981, it was the maiden voyage of the world’s first re-useable spacecraft. Launched nine years after the last Apollo voyage to the Moon and six years after the joint Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the shuttle was built to ferry humans and cargo into low-Earth orbit. It was part space plane, part rocket-propelled pick-up truck, and part orbiting launch platform.
The Space Shuttle launched major satellites that helped revolutionize our study of the Earth. Its on-board experiments provided discoveries and new climatologies never before available. It provided for multiple flight opportunities for highly calibrated instruments to help verify results from satellites. Shuttle flights provided for on-orbit demonstration of techniques that helped pave the way for subsequent instruments and satellites. The shuttle enabled international cooperation.
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