This Day in History April 12, 1981

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Well, this was another great day in NASA history.  On this date in 1981, Space Shuttle Columbia first launched into space.  This was the first reusable manned spacecraft to go into space.   This first mission last 54 hours and orbited the earth 36 times.



I have to admit I don't really remember this.  I remember the space shuttle, but I don't remember this specific date.  What I do remember is when the tragedy happened back in 2003 when this same space shuttle disintegrated upon reentry.  I remember because I was in Texas at the time, and we were coming back from a special overnight stay.  We had not watched any news, and we did not know why it said to watch out for space shuttle debris.  We did not know what happened till we got home.

For more information, please check out:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-launching-of-the-space-shuttle
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0124-1011-2212-0936.html