1981

78 years after the first twelve seconds

First orbital flight 12–14 April 1981 · Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to Edwards, California

Space Shuttle Columbia Columbia (OV-102), STS-1

Back from orbit on wings

10 m · person 1.75 m · behind it, the A380 at the same scale

Fly it yourself

No engine and one try: dive at about 20° toward runway 23, then round out and land.

The story

On 12 April 1981 and rode Columbia into orbit on its very first flight; no new American spacecraft had flown its first mission with a crew aboard before. Two days later it came home as a glider. It slowed below the speed of sound about 15.5 km above the Mojave, swung through a 210° turn, dived at Rogers Dry Lake down a glide path about seven times steeper than an airliner's, then rounded out and touched down on runway 23 at 340 km/h.

Its three main engines worked only on the way up, fed from the big external tank, so every landing was flown without power and had to work the first time. The approach came in two parts: a steep dive at about 20°, with the split rudder opened as a speedbrake to hold the speed, then a pull-up onto a slope of 1.5° and the flare, with the wheels lowered only about 120 m above the ground. Gliding back to this lakebed was what X-15 pilots had done for years, and in 1977 the test orbiter Enterprise had practised it, released from the back of a Boeing 747.

Five orbiters flew 135 missions between 1981 and 2011. Two were lost with their crews: Challenger during launch in 1986, and Columbia itself on 1 February 2003, when a hole in the heat shield on its wing let hot gas in during reentry. Discovery, which flew 39 times, is at the 's Udvar-Hazy Center.

How it works

How the orbiter slowed down with no engine to throttle back. Its rudder is split down the middle: swing both halves to one side and it steers, open them like a book, up to 87° apart, and the drag holds the speed on the steep glide. On the runway it opens wide to help the brakes.

How the orbiter landed without power. It dived down a glide slope of about 20°, six or seven times steeper than an airliner's 3°, pulled up onto a shallow 1.5° glide, and lowered its wheels only about 120 m above the ground. Heights are drawn three times taller.

Why the orbiter wore three kinds of skin. Raise the nose into the hot flow: the dark carbon-carbon leading edge takes the worst of it, 1,510 °C on STS-1, the black tiles on the belly glow as they turn into the flow, and the white blankets on top stay in its shadow.

How the orbiter steered with its wing's trailing edge. Move up and down and the elevons move together, as an elevator; move across and they split, as ailerons, between 35° up and 20° down. The body flap under the engines follows slowly to hold the trim.

Why the orbiter's wing has two sweeps. Raise the nose and the air rolls off the sharp 81° strake into a vortex that streams back over the 45° main wing. The shape flies efficiently at hypersonic speed and still glides well enough to land.

Drawn for the North American X-15

How the X-15 steered where the air ran out. Push the hand controller sideways and a thruster at each wingtip puffs, one up and one down, and the airframe rolls on its gimbal stand.

Drawn for the Northrop B-2 Spirit

How a tailless wing turns. The B-2 has no fin. Near each wingtip the trailing edge splits along one hinge line, the upper half rising and the lower half dropping, up to 45° each. The drag of the open surface pulls that wingtip back, and the nose swings toward that side.

The whole aircraftDrag to turn it, and pinch to zoom. Pick a part to fly the camera to it.

Loading the 3D model…

Specifications

Top speed: 28,160 km/h
Wingspan: 23.8 m
Max weight: 88,662 kg
Ceiling: 271,000 m
Range: —
In 12 seconds: 93.9 km
Power: None for landing. To orbit: 3 RS-25 main engines and 2 solid rocket boosters

Where it flew

Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to Edwards, California

Over the Mojave, 45 km from Rogers Dry Lake. The simulator starts here, over today's ground and imagery of the place.

Fly it yourself

Take the Space Shuttle Columbia up in 3D, with its real weight, wing area and power.

No engine and one try: dive at about 20° toward runway 23, then round out and land.

On displayDiscovery, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia

Sources

By İlker KurtelPublished 31 October 2026Spotted a mistake? Write to me

Space Shuttle Columbia Columbia (OV-102), STS-1

The story

How it works

Specifications

Where it flew

Fly it yourself

Sources

Where it sits in a century of speed

All 17 aircraft

A simulator, not a game