Editing Space Shuttle Columbia (section)

==History==
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2020}}
Construction began on ''Columbia'' in 1975 at [[Rockwell International]]'s (formerly [[North American Aviation]]/North American Rockwell) principal assembly facility in [[Palmdale, California]], a suburb of Los Angeles. ''Columbia'' was named after the American [[sloop]] ''[[Columbia Rediviva]]'' which, from 1787 to 1793, under the command of [[Robert Gray (sea captain)|Captain Robert Gray]], explored the US Pacific Northwest and became the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe. It is also named after the [[Apollo command and service module|command module]] of [[Apollo 11]], the first crewed landing on another celestial body.<ref name="NASA, 2003">{{cite web|title=Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (OV-102)|url=https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia.html|website=science.ksc.nasa.gov|publisher=NASA|access-date=July 21, 2017|date=February 1, 2003|archive-date=June 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606093616/https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Columbia'' was also the [[Columbia (personification)|female symbol]] of the [[United States]].  After construction, the orbiter arrived at [[Kennedy Space Center]] on March 25, 1979, to prepare for its first launch. ''Columbia'' was originally scheduled to lift off in late 1979, however the launch date was delayed by problems with both the [[RS-25]] engine and the [[thermal protection system]] (TPS).<ref name=NTRS>{{Cite journal|author1=Slovinac, Patricia |author2=Deming, Joan |title=Avionics Systems Laboratory/Building 16. Historical Documentation|journal=NASA Technical Reports Server|date=January 2011 |publisher=NASA|hdl=2060/20110002109 }}</ref> On March 19, 1981, during preparations for a ground test, [[Space accidents and incidents#Other non-astronaut fatalities|workers were asphyxiated]] in Columbia's [[nitrogen]]-purged aft engine compartment, resulting in (variously reported) two or three fatalities.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=March 19, 1981: Shuttle Columbia's First Fatalities |url=https://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2009/03/dayintech_0319 |magazine=Wired News |date=March 19, 2009 |access-date=July 29, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Space shuttle worker dies in fall at launch pad |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42072452 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204134720/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42072452 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 4, 2020 |work=NBC News |date=March 14, 2011 |access-date=August 2, 2011}}</ref>
[[File:566175main columbia-opf.jpg|thumb|upright|''Columbia'' in the Orbiter Processing Facility after delivery to Kennedy Space Center in 1979. About 8,000 of 30,000 tiles had not yet been installed.<ref name="Gebhardt, 2011">{{cite web |author=Gebhardt |first=Chris |date=February 1, 2011 |title=Space Shuttle Columbia: A New Beginning and Vision |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/02/space-shuttle-columbia-a-new-beginning-and-vision/ |website=www.nasaspaceflight.com}}</ref>]]

The first flight of ''Columbia'' ([[STS-1]]) was commanded by [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]], a veteran from the [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] and Apollo programs who in 1972 had been the [[Apollo 16|ninth person to walk on the Moon]]; and piloted by [[Robert Crippen]], a rookie astronaut originally selected to fly on the military's [[Manned Orbital Laboratory]] (MOL) spacecraft, but transferred to NASA after its cancellation, and served as a support crew member for the [[Skylab]] and [[Apollo–Soyuz Test Project|Apollo-Soyuz]] missions.

''Columbia'' spent 610 days in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF), another 35 days in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), and 105 days on Pad 39A before finally lifting off.<ref name=NTRS />  It was successfully launched on April 12, 1981, the 20th anniversary of the first [[human spaceflight]] ([[Vostok 1]]), and returned on April 14, 1981, after orbiting the Earth 36 times, landing on the dry lakebed runway at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] in California. It then undertook three further research missions to test its technical characteristics and performance. Its first operational mission, with a four-man crew, was [[STS-5]], which launched on November 11, 1982. At this point ''Columbia'' was joined by ''[[Space Shuttle Challenger|Challenger]]'', which flew the next three shuttle missions, while ''Columbia'' underwent modifications for the first [[Spacelab]] mission.

[[Image:NASA salutes Reagans.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Astronauts salute dignitaries with the Shuttle's rear landing gear and gear door prominently behind, and other landing support vehicles around the orbiter.|''Columbia'' astronauts [[Ken Mattingly|Thomas K. Mattingly]] and pilot [[Henry Hartsfield]] salute President [[Ronald Reagan]], standing beside his wife, [[Nancy Reagan|Nancy]], upon landing in 1982]]

In 1983, ''Columbia'', under the command of John Young on what was his sixth spaceflight, undertook its second operational mission ([[STS-9]]), in which the Spacelab science laboratory and a six-person crew was carried, including the first non-American astronaut on a space shuttle, [[Ulf Merbold]]. After the flight, it spent 18 months at the Rockwell Palmdale facility beginning in January 1984, undergoing modifications that removed the Orbiter Flight Test hardware and updating it to similar specifications as those of its sister orbiters. At that time the shuttle fleet was expanded to include ''[[Space Shuttle Discovery|Discovery]]'' and ''[[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Atlantis]]''.

''Columbia'' returned to space on January 12, 1986, with the launch of [[STS-61-C]]. The mission's crew included [[Franklin Chang-Diaz]], and the first sitting member of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] to venture into space, [[Bill Nelson]].

The next shuttle mission, [[STS-51-L]], was undertaken by ''Challenger''. It was launched on January 28, 1986, ten days after STS-61-C had landed, and [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|ended in disaster]] 73 seconds after launch. Prior to the accident, ''Columbia'' had been slated to be ferried to [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]] to conduct fueling tests and to perform a flight readiness firing at [[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6|SLC-6]] to validate the west coast launch site. In the aftermath, NASA's shuttle timetable was disrupted, and the Vandenberg tests, which would have cost $60&nbsp;million, were canceled. ''Columbia'' was not flown again until 1989 (on [[STS-28]]), after which it resumed normal service as part of the shuttle fleet.

[[STS-93]], launched on July 23, 1999, was the first U.S. space mission with a female commander, Lt. Col. [[Eileen Collins]]. This mission deployed the [[Chandra X-ray Observatory]].

''Columbia'''s final complete mission was [[STS-109]], the fourth servicing mission for the [[Hubble Space Telescope]]. Its next mission, [[STS-107]], culminated in the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|orbiter's loss]] when it disintegrated during reentry, killing all seven of its crew.

Consequently, President [[George W. Bush]] decided to retire the Shuttle orbiter fleet by 2010 in favor of the [[Constellation program]] and its crewed [[Orion (Constellation program)|Orion spacecraft]]. The Constellation program was later canceled with the [[NASA Authorization Act of 2010]] signed by President [[Barack Obama]] on October 11.
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===Construction milestones===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#efefef;" | Date
! style="background:#efefef;" | Milestone<ref>{{cite web|title=Shuttle Orbiter Columbia (OV-102)|url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia.html|publisher=NASA/KSC|access-date=November 7, 2012|archive-date=June 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606093616/https://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/columbia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| July 26, 1972 
| Contract Awarded to North American Rockwell
|-
| March 25, 1975 
| Start long-lead fabrication aft fuselage
|-
| November 17, 1975 
| Start long-lead fabrication of crew module
|-
| June 28, 1976 
| Start assembly of crew module
|-
| September 13, 1976 
| Start structural assembly of aft fuselage
|-
| December 13, 1977
| Start assembly upper forward fuselage
|-
| January 3, 1977 
| Start assembly vertical stabilizer
|-
| August 26, 1977 
| Wings arrive at Palmdale from Grumman
|-
| October 28, 1977 
| Lower forward fuselage on dock, Palmdale
|-
| November 7, 1977 
| Start of Final Assembly
|-
| February 24, 1978 
| Body flap on dock, Palmdale
|-
| April 28, 1978 
| Forward payload bay doors on dock, Palmdale
|-
| May 26, 1978 
| Upper forward fuselage mate
|-
| July 7, 1978 
| Complete mate forward and aft payload bay doors
|-
| September 11, 1978 
| Complete forward RCS
|-
| February 3, 1979 
| Complete combined systems test, Palmdale
|-
| February 16, 1979 
| Airlock on dock, Palmdale
|-
| March 5, 1979
| Complete postcheckout
|-
| March 8, 1979 
| Closeout inspection, Final Acceptance Palmdale
|-
| March 8, 1979 
| Rollout from Palmdale to Dryden
|-
| March 12, 1979 
| Overland transport from Palmdale to Edwards
|-
| March 20, 1979 
| SCA Ferry Flight from DFRC to Biggs AFB, Texas
|-
| March 22, 1979 
| SCA Ferry flight from Biggs AFB to Kelly AFB, Texas
|-
| March 24, 1979 
| SCA Ferry flight from Kelly AFB to Eglin AFB, Florida
|-
| March 24, 1979 
| SCA Ferry flight from Eglin, AFB to KSC
|-
| November 3, 1979 
| Auxiliary Power Unit hot fire tests, OPF KSC
|-
| December 16, 1979 
| Orbiter integrated test start, KSC
|-
| January 14, 1980 
| Orbiter integrated test complete, KSC
|-
| February 20, 1981 
| Flight Readiness Firing
|-
| April 12, 1981 
| First Flight (STS-1)
|}