Question: What was the name of the first space shuttle to launch in 1981?
Answer: The space shuttle Columbia launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1981, becoming the first reusable manned spacecraft to travel into space. Piloted by astronauts Robert L. Crippen and John W. Young, the Columbia undertook a 54-hour space flight of 36 orbits before successfully touching down at California’s Edwards Air Force Base on April 14.
