>> 35 years ago on april 12 1981, spatial columbia lifted off from the kennedy space center in florida with two crew members on board, launching a new era in manned spaceflight. next, "space shuttle," a 32 minute story on the launch of the space shuttle. shuttle program was retired in 2011. >> sunday, april 12, 1981. kennedy space center, florida.

the space shuttle, 14 stories high, 2000 tons, poised on the pad for its maiden flight. this is columbia, the space shuttle double bit the earth -- that will orbit the earth. the solid rocket boosters, the largest ever used on any launch vehicle. the first to be employed in a u.s. manned flight. at liftoff, the solid rocket boosters together with the three main engines will unleash more than 6.5 million pounds of thrust needed to launch the first reusable spacecraft. never before has a winged vehicle been launched like a rocket, returning to earth through frictional heating in it sets of 5200 degrees. still aerodynamically sound to be launched again and again and

again. if it succeeds, the space shuttle will truly be a remarkable flying machine. ♪ >> there are many other goals to be reached during the 54.5 our mission. test objectives are planned. these could not be achieved without an astronaut crew. the commander, john young. the pilot, robert crichton -- robert crippen. john young is the most experienced astronaut flying today. all though crippen has over 4000 hours of jet flying time, this

is his first time in space. the astronauts make their way across the access arm for the shuttle in the predawn hours before lunch. an american spaceship has never carried a human crew on its maiden voyage. at the launch control center, three miles from the pad, final steps are being contributed to the countdown. final preparations are being made in the mission control center in houston, where control of the flight will be switched to tower. there has not been a manned launch in kennedy space center since apollo soyuz test project in july of 1975. for this launch, young and crippen will launch indicate, -- in the cape.

the most challenging ascent profile ever to be phone by a space vehicle. photographers, film, and television crews, and newspaper and magazine writers from around the world, nearly 2700 of them, are here to cover this launch. in addition, 600,000 spectators one coastal area near the space center, arriving by every mode of transportation. they have come from every state in the union and many foreign countries. promise of a rebirth in america's manned space program, and the dawn of a new era in space transportation awaits. >> 14, 13.

t -10, 9, 8, 7, six, main engine start. >> roger, roll. >> the roll puts the space

shuttle on its precise heading for its imaginary target in space. >> roger, roll complete. >> go, booster, go. >> go, go. >> columbia, houston, you are glad 40 -- go at 40. >> columbia is 40 seconds and the flight.

>> your negative -- you are negative. >> should anything go wrong, the shuttle is not too high to use ejection seats. >> srb sep is go. capcom, all the calls are going to be a tad early. >> you're looking a little hot, columbia, your calls will be a little early. >> columbia standby. >> market. >> mark. >> the shuttle can now continue. just continue toward main engine cutoff -- the shuttle can now continue toward main engine cutoff.

>> market. >> mark. >> negative return. >> your aft is good. >> what a view. >> single-engine rotor. >> columbia, you single engine rotor. >> columbia can land safely at the single engine --right now the engines are generating more than 2 million horsepower. >> roger. >> right on the money. nominal. >> main engine cutoff, columbia is now in space, traveling over

18,000 mph. ♪ >> we have separation. >> roger, we confirm. >> the external tank is jettisoned and is now falling away from the shuttle, back toward earth. the tank will break up over the indian ocean when it comes in contact with the atmosphere. shortly, columbia will achieve orbit. then, one of the most important tests of the mission, opening the payload bay doors. the doors must be opened before the end of the 6th orbit to expose the space rated cooling system -- space-radiated cooling system. if it cannot be opened, yesterday will have to return home. the burns are successful.

columbia is in orbit circling the earth at an altitude of approximately 150 miles. the payload bay doors are opened. >> the doors coming up now -- the doors are coming open now. >> that is really beautiful out there. >> we appreciate the updates. >> both doors are opened. the radiators are deployed, to begin dissipating the heat. >> they're all up and up and hunky-dory. -- they are all opened up and hunky-dory. generators look good. >> we want to tell all of you, we do have a few tiles missing

off of the starboard pod. i see one. and a triangle shape that are missing. we are trying to put that on the tv right now. >> roger, we can see that good. >> from what we can see of both wings, almost all of the wing is intact. >> within minutes, and assessment is made on the impact the missing tiles would have on the remainder of the mission. at a news conference, later in the day, flight director neil hutchinson answers questions from reporters. >> you asked me if i knew any other tiles might be loose, the answer is no.

quite rightly, we are not worried about other tiles being loose. >> is there anything, anything at all that could lead you to say you might not go for the full duration mission? >> nothing. >> columbia, houston, you guys did so good. you are go for orbit. >> this thing is just performing just outstanding. >> roger, we agree with that. columbia, houston, just for your information, you drop to those srb's on target. the votes are fishing them back -- boats are fishing them back. >> solid rocket boosters that separated as planned landed on target in the atlantic ocean, 151 miles down range from lunch. -- launch.

after being towed back to kennedy space center, they will be refurbished and used again in future shuttle flights. the third and fourth burns are so successful, they raise the club he orbit to an altitude of approximately 172 miles -- the columbia orbit to an altitude of 172 miles. >> that is as smooth as of the -- as it could possibly go. the vehicle has just been performing beautifully, more than anybody ever expected for a first flight. it is delightful up here.

we want to thank every buddy that has helped, we take great pride in doing so well right now -- everybody that has helped, we take great pride in doing so well right now. >> i guess being the "rookie" on this flight, i had a thrill from the moment of liftoff to what we are doing now. it has really been super, the spacecraft has worked all the way along. i think we have something that is really going to mean sending to the country in the world. this vehicle is performing like a champ, like all of us that have worked so hard nude that it would. -- so hard knew that it would. >> just accidents, says robert crippen.

every test, liftoff, srv separation, and recovery, e.g. separation, impact, opening and closing tests, have all been successful. >> this is fantastic. you worked through a long, hard day. it has sure been fun working with you today, and we look forward to seeing you in the morning. get a good nights rest best night's rest -- getting good night's rest. >> hasta manana. ♪

>> ♪ a job well done by the shuttle space team ♪ ♪ i will tell you right now, she is in the machine ♪ ♪ columbia, not the kind you smoke ♪ ♪ this here is a first >> welcome to day two. >> alright. we appreciate that wake-up music. >> today, the astronauts test the onboard systems and review procedures for tomorrow's landing. a test of the flight control system is conducted by john young. the flight control system operates colombia's surfaces, the body flaps, the writer, speed brake. -- rudder, speed brake. these will be required for tomorrow's landing.

the payload bay door tests ensure that landing can be done before tomorrow. as with every mission, many pictures of the earth are taken by the astronauts. over 500 on this first flight. active volcanoes, cloud formations, giant whirlpools over 15 miles in diameter. sand dunes 1500 feet high running unbroken for hundreds of miles. a high himalayas where mountain peaks reach 24,000 feet. one of the most remarkable

space photographs ever taken in, i -- ever taken, these cleared sandhills in iran. they receive a call from the vice president of the united states, george bush. vice president bush: this trip is going to excite the forward thinking in this country, so i just wanted to call up and wish you the very best. >> we appreciate it, mr. vice president. >> the crew also check out the ejection suits they will wear during entry. they are ready for the final

phase of the mission entry and landing -- mission, entry and landing. ♪ >> april 14, 1981. the edge of the rogers dry lake bed in california. the recovery convoy of 24 vehicles and more than 100 personnel are gathering here. they will collect the power to down columbia after landing here. enormous crowds begin to arrive. a string of traffic 600 miles long waits to enter the base. thousands more are already here. close to 1/2 million people will see the landing.

on board, the astronauts suit for landing. the orbital phases of the mission have gone extremely well. now, the final phase must be completed. before it begins, the doors, which have been opened a total of 47 hours during the flight, must be closed. then, using the rcs thrusters, columbia will move into deorbit burn attitude. then it will fire the thrusters one more time. columbia is out of contact during the burn. mission control will not know if the burn was successful until they are in communication with the spacecraft over australia. it is now over the indian ocean

on the other side of the world. the distance must be precise of the columbia will hit the target -- precise so that columbia will hit the target in california. >> we're standing by. >> columbia is now committed to entry. with the rcs post for maneuver -- post-burn maneuver and several firings, this is where the atmosphere begins at approximately 400,000. until it reaches 100 65,000 feet, there will be a communication blackout, out of touch with mission control. the landing site is almost 4000 miles from the entry place. one airplane will check out the

columbia for any damage prior to landing. when the shuttle touches down, it will be traveling within 260 miles per hour. right now it is going 107 -- it must survive the intense heat from traveling through the atmosphere at such a high rate of speed. several s turns, or role reversals -- roll reversals, are used to move the columbia through the atmosphere. is traveling at more than 26 times the speed of sound. this one is done at 200-8000 feet -- 208,000 feet.

temperatures will reach 2000 degrees on some places on the vehicle. the aluminum skin will melt at 3000 degrees. since there is no test facility owner to simulate the area dynamic instructional environment columbia is in right now, only calculations can be used to predict what would happen during this flight. the predictions and calculations had to be right. >> houston, columbia is here. >> houston is here, have you read? -- how do you read? your state vector is good. >> ok.

[indiscernible] >> the entry trajectory, velocity, and position look good. columbia is heading for home, only 470 miles away. >> john, we are showing you rolling to the right, looking you are crossing the coast now. >> the shuttle is it about 100,000 feet with a long-range camera from anderson peak, california. >> looks perfect, right on the number. ♪ >> 112,000. >> 21 degrees. >> a roll reversal is done over

bakersfield, california. >> that is beautiful. >> we're seeing 1.3 g's. coming around. >> the astronauts are making the final turn to light up the runway -- line up the runway. >> columbia, you're really looking good. winds on the surface are calm. >> you are right on the glide slope, columbia. ♪ >> everything looks real good. >> the chase reports no tile or

damage evident underneath the shuttle. the altitude is now under 5000 feet. >> clear. >> without power, columbia must land. it cannot make another attempt. >> 50 feet. >> 40, 30, 20, 10, alright.

4, 3, 2, 1. it's down. 5, 4, 3, touchdown. welcome home. >> welcome home columbia. beautiful, beautiful. >> we are going to dust it off first. >> i will tell you that, it was

super. >> wheels stopping. [applause] >> the maiden voyage has been a success. the astronauts and the vehicle have met or exceeded all 144 flight tested jet does best flight test objectives -- all 144 flight test objectives. structural, power, thermal, all have been affirmed. john young: i cannot tell you what attribute that is to be american workingman and american working woman. people from all walks of life

and capabilities and limitations, it is all due to their efforts. they proved they can do the job, they proved it for the world to see. i am mighty proud to be associated with folks like that. >> what attribute, indeed. -- a tribute indeed. this is a technology never before realized in the history of manned spaceflight. the basic building block for the future. >> this is what we have been trying to do for 10 years. this vehicle will allow us to travel much cheaper than we ever did before, it will help develop space science and technology. it will do in five to 10 years what it would've taken 20 to 30 years to do otherwise. we could not do it without the special and the pay looking ability, and the sooner we do these things, the better off the

country is going to be. >> a new era in space transportation has just begun. routine access to space. welcome to the future. ♪