Space Shuttle Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia, designated OV-102, was the first of the five Space Shuttle orbiters to fly in space. Rockwell International built it at Palmdale, California, and NASA operated it. It made the first Space Shuttle flight on April 12, 1981 and became the first spacecraft reused after a flight when it launched again on STS-2. Because it kept test instrumentation, an internal airlock and a heavier aft fuselage, it was the heaviest of the spacefaring orbiters. Over 22 years it flew 28 missions, many of them long science flights including STS-80, the longest of the programme. Columbia disintegrated on re-entry on 1 February 2003, killing the seven crew of STS-107.