It was the second, the Columbia, that had the honor of being the first space shuttle to launch into orbit. It blasted off on April 12, 1981, exactly two decades after Yuri Gagarin became the first ...
This marked the only shuttle landing at White Sands. First American woman in space: STS-7 (Challenger) The launch of Challenger on June 18, 1983, marked a pivotal milestone: Sally Ride became the ...