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

Two space shuttle solid rocket boosters — reusable space hardware that launched on 81 missions — are being gifted to the California Science Center to become part of the museum’s launch pad display of Endeavour.

Thirty years ago Friday, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard the shuttle Discovery with a famously flawed mirror, the opening chapter in an improbable saga of redemption and scientific discovery that revolutionized humanity’s view of the cosmos with jaw-dropping images now familiar to millions.

SpaceX’s launch of the Starlink 6-56 mission will move the company past the total number of Space Shuttle Program missions from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff is set for 2:42 p.m. EDT (1842 UTC).