<P> STS - 1 ( Space Transportation System - 1 ) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA 's Space Shuttle program . The first orbiter , Columbia , launched on 12 April 1981 and returned on 14 April , 54.5 hours later , having orbited the Earth 37 times . Columbia carried a crew of two -- mission commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen . It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo - Soyuz Test Project in 1975 . STS - 1 was also the only maiden test flight of a new US spacecraft to carry a crew , though it was preceded by atmospheric testing of the orbiter and ground testing of the space shuttle system . </P>
<P> STS - 1 ( Space Transportation System - 1 ) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA 's Space Shuttle program . The first orbiter , Columbia , launched on 12 April 1981 and returned on 14 April , 54.5 hours later , having orbited the Earth 37 times . Columbia carried a crew of two -- mission commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen . It was the first American manned space flight since the Apollo - Soyuz Test Project in 1975 . STS - 1 was also the only maiden test flight of a new US spacecraft to carry a crew , though it was preceded by atmospheric testing of the orbiter and ground testing of the space shuttle system . </P>
when was the first us space shuttle launched
when was the first us space shuttle launched
12 April 1981
12 April 1981