NASA Celebrates 25th Anniversary of First Shuttle Flight

NASA today launches a series of events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first space shuttle flight. On April 12, 1981, shuttle Columbia lifted off with Commander John Young and pilot Robert Crippen. Their mission, known as STS-1, is being remembered as the boldest test flight in history. Several anniversary activities will be broadcast live on NASA Television.

The first event will take place today at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and will air live on NASA Television beginning at 3 p.m. EDT.

The STS-1 crew will address Kennedy employees and field their questions during a one-hour session.

On the actual anniversary date, NASA astronaut Steve Lindsey, commander of the next space shuttle mission, will be available for satellite interviews from the agency's Johnson Space Center, Houston, between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. EDT. To participate, media should call the center's newsroom at (281) 483-5111 by 4 p.m. EDT April 11. Lindsey's interviews and training b-roll will be broadcast live on the NASA TV analog satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 5C, 3800 MHz, vertical polarization, with audio at 6.8 MHz. The b-roll airs at 6:30 a.m. EDT.

At 10 a.m. EDT April 12, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will join Young and Crippen at Space Center Houston to honor their mission and all those who made it possible. Due to limited seating, the event is not open to the public, but it will be broadcast live on NASA TV. At 11:05 a.m. EDT, the NASA administrator and members of Congress will hold an informal media availability at Space Center Houston.

At 11:45 a.m. EDT, Young and Crippen will participate in a news conference from Johnson's Teague Auditorium on NASA TV. Reporters at Johnson, Kennedy and NASA Headquarters can ask questions. At 12:30 p.m. EDT, NASA TV will broadcast an event from the Teague where the STS-1 crew, former shuttle managers and flight directors will reminisce about the historic mission for Johnson employees.

Also on April 12, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., will observe e 25th anniversary during an employee event that will feature an STS-1 video on Marshall's role in developing the propulsion systems for the flight.

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., unveils a shuttle sculpture at 10 a.m. April 14. Wallops provided range-safety support during the STS-1 launch and tracked the shuttle during the mission. Contact: Keith Koehler, Wallops public affairs, at (757) 824-1579

NASA's Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, will hold a briefing at 11 a.m. EDT April 15 with a NASA aerospace engineer on what it takes to put a shuttle into orbit.

NASA TV will begin airing a Video File segment including footage of the STS-1 mission on Monday, April 10. NASA TV's Public, Education and Media channels are available on an MPEG-2 digital C-band signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. In Alaska and Hawaii, they're on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal polarization.

Image Credit: NASA

• Picture Gallery: STS-1 Pictures Gallery?
• Related Article: Learn more about Tha Loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
• Video: Columbia Crew Video, taken shortly before the disaster.

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