Editing STS-1 (section)

{{Short description|First Space Shuttle mission, first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia}}
{{About|the Space Shuttle flight|Synchronous Transport Signal (level)-1 in the SONET hierarchy|Synchronous optical networking|the gene|STS-1 (gene)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = STS-1
| names_list         = [[Space Transportation System]]-1
| image              = Space Shuttle Columbia launching.jpg
| image_caption      = STS-1 lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981, the first orbital launch of the Space Shuttle program.
| mission_type       = [[Flight test]]
| operator           = [[NASA]]
| mission_duration   = {{time interval|April 12, 1981, 12:00:04|April 14, 1981, 18:20:57|show=dhms|sep=,}}
| distance_travelled = {{cvt|1729348|km}}
| orbits_completed   = 36
| spacecraft         = {{OV|102}}
| launch_date        = {{start date text|April 12, 1981, 12:00:04|timezone=yes}}{{nbsp}}[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] (07:00:04{{nbsp}}am{{nbsp}}[[Eastern Standard Time|EST]])
| launch_site        = [[Kennedy Space Center|Kennedy]], [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]
| launch_contractor  = [[Rockwell International]]
| crew_size          = 2
| crew_members       = {{Unbulleted list|[[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]]|[[Robert Crippen]]}}
| landing_date       = {{end date text|April 14, 1981, 18:20:57|timezone=yes}}{{nbsp}}UTC (10:20:57{{nbsp}}am{{nbsp}}[[Pacific Standard Time|PST]])
| landing_site       = [[Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards]], Runway{{nbsp}}23
| orbit_reference    = [[Geocentric orbit]]
| orbit_regime       = [[Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_periapsis    = {{cvt|246|km}}
| orbit_apoapsis     = {{cvt|274|km}}
| orbit_inclination  = 40.30°
| orbit_period       = 89.88 minutes
| apsis              = gee
| instruments        = Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI)
| insignia           = Sts-1-patch.png
| insignia_caption   = STS-1 mission patch
| crew_photo         = Sts-1 crew.jpg
| crew_photo_caption = [[John W. Young (astronaut)|Young]] and [[Robert Crippen|Crippen]]
| programme          = [[Space Shuttle program]]
| previous_mission   = [[Approach and Landing Tests]] (ALT)
| next_mission       = [[STS-2]]
}}

'''STS-1''' ([[Space Transportation System]]-1) was the first [[orbital spaceflight]] of [[NASA]]'s [[Space Shuttle program]]. The first [[Space Shuttle orbiter|orbiter]], [[Space Shuttle Columbia|''Columbia'']], launched on April 12, 1981,<ref>{{cite news |title='Yeeeow!' and 'Doggone!' Are Shouted on Beaches as Crowds Watch Liftoff |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/041381sci-nasa-columbia-3.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and returned on April 14, 1981, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times. ''Columbia'' carried a crew of two—commander [[John Young (astronaut)|John W. Young]] and pilot [[Robert Crippen|Robert L. Crippen]]. It was the first American crewed space flight since the [[Apollo–Soyuz|Apollo–Soyuz Test Project]] (ASTP) in 1975. STS-1 was also the maiden test flight of a new American spacecraft to carry a crew, though it was preceded by [[Approach and Landing Tests|atmospheric testing]] (ALT) of the orbiter and ground testing of the Space Shuttle system.

The launch occurred on the 20th anniversary of [[Vostok 1]], the first human spaceflight, performed by [[Yuri Gagarin]] for the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]. This was a coincidence rather than a celebration of the anniversary; a technical problem had prevented STS-1 from launching two days earlier, as was planned.