A look at the 26-year history of the space
shuttle program.
Columbia’s flight was one
of six originally scheduled for this year.
|
|
Missions
|
Astronauts |
Days in space
|
|
| 1977
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Shuttle approach and landing tests.
|
| 1981
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
April 12: First shuttle launch.
|
| 1982
|
3
|
7
|
20
|
Nov.: First nontest shuttle flight.
|
| 1983
|
4
|
20
|
27
|
June: Sally Ride is first US woman in space. First satellite
retrieval. Aug.: Guion Bluford is first African-American in space.
|
| 1984
|
5
|
28
|
38
|
Oct.: Kathryn Sullivan is first woman to walk in space.
|
| 1985
|
9
|
58
|
57
|
April: Utah Senator Jake Garn is first member of Congress in space.
|
| 1986
|
2
|
14
|
16
|
Jan.: Florida Representative Bill Nelson is second member of Congress in space. Jan. 28: Challenger explodes 73 seconds into flight, killing all on board.
|
| 1988
|
2
|
10
|
8
|
Sept.: First post-Challenger flight.
|
| 1989
|
4
|
15
|
24
|
May: First shuttle release of an interplanetary craft, Magellan probe to Venus.
|
| 1990
|
6
|
32
|
38
|
April: Hubble Space Telescope put into orbit.
|
| 1991
|
6
|
35
|
44
|
Nov.: Dedicated Department of Defense mission.
|
| 1992
|
8
|
53
|
72
|
May: Longest space walk, 8 hours 29 minutes. Sept.: Mae
Jemison is first African-American woman in space. Mark Lee
and Jan Davis are first married couple in space.
|
| 1993
|
7
|
42
|
69
|
Nov.: Shannon Lucid logs 838th hour on shuttle, the most for a woman. Dec.: Hubble repair mission. Record five space walks, totaling 35 hours 28 minutes.
|
| 1994
|
7
|
42
|
81
|
Feb.: First flight with a Russian cosmonaut.
|
| 1995
|
7
|
43
|
78
|
June: 100th manned space flight. First docking with Mir.
|
| 1996
|
7
|
43
|
88
|
Feb.: 75th shuttle flight. Sept.: Shannon Lucid ends 188 days
in space, a US record. Nov.-Dec.: Longest shuttle mission ever,
17 days 9 hours.
|
| 1997
|
8
|
54
|
87
|
Oct.: Seventh Mir docking mission with the transfer of
physician David A. Wolf to Mir. Wolf became the sixth US
astronaut in succession to live on Mir.
|
| 1998
|
3
|
21
|
34
|
Oct.: Space pioneer John Glenn returned to space – 36 years,
eight months and nine days after he became the first American
to orbit the Earth.
|
| 1999
|
3
|
19
|
20
|
July: When Columbia reached orbit, it was 11 kilometers (7
miles) short of its target. This was due to premature main
engine cutoff an instant before the scheduled cutoff.
|
| 2000
|
5
|
32
|
53
|
April: Visible shuttle improvement, a new glass cockpit.
|
| 2001
|
6
|
47
|
69
|
Feb.: Delivered Destiny Lab to the International Space Station.
|
| 2002
|
5
|
36
|
56
|
March: Upgraded the Hubble Space Telescope with a new
power unit, a new camera, and new solar arrays.
|
| 2003
|
1
|
7
|
17
|
Feb.: Space shuttle Columbia breaks up on entry, first flight for Israeli astronaut.
|
