April 14, 1981: Landing of Columbia on STS-1

#OTD…Launch of a 1993 environmental mission on Discovery and Atlantis’ ISS flight in 2002

A former space shuttle orbital maneuvering system engine has been delivered to Germany for attachment to the European-built service module destined to steer NASA’s next Orion spacecraft on a course around the moon on an uncrewed test flight in late 2018.

On the 35th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch, the last remaining external fuel tank set sail today from its factory in New Orleans to Los Angeles and a remarkable museum attraction in the making.