STS-1

John Young had flown four times — Gemini, twice on Apollo, the Moon itself — before he strapped into Columbia on 12 April 1981, twenty years to the day after Yuri Gagarin's orbit. Robert Crippen, beside him as pilot, had not flown in space before.

The Shuttle carried no uncrewed powered test flights before its first crewed mission. Young and Crippen were aboard on the vehicle's very first ascent, making STS-1 the only orbital US spacecraft ever to fly its maiden flight with a crew.

The mission completed 36 orbits over two days and six hours before landing at Edwards Air Force Base. Post-flight inspection found thermal protection tile damage to the OMS pods — a reminder that the machine was newer than it appeared.

Columbia went on to fly 27 more missions over 22 years. Crippen eventually commanded three shuttle flights of his own.