STS-1 was the first flight of the space shuttle. It launched on April 12, 1981 and landed on April 14. It was launched 20 years after the first manned space flight. The space shuttle used was Columbia. Space Shuttle Columbia orbited the Earth 37 times in this mission.
External tank[change | change source]
STS-1 was the first of two missions with a painted external tank. The paint was put to protect the external tank from ultraviolet light when it was standing on the launch pad. After STS-2, the paint was removed