United Space Alliance
Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102
Launch Vehicle
Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102
Configuration: OV-102
Family: Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space-rated orbiter in NASA's Space Shuttle fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12, 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle program. Over 22 years of service it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members.
STS-73 was a Space Shuttle program mission, during October–November 1995, on board the space shuttle Columbia. The mission was the second mission for the United States Microgravity Laboratory. The crew, who spent 16 days in space, were broken up into 2 teams, the red team and the blue team. The mission also included several Detailed Test Objectives or DTO's.