Space Shuttle Crawler - HISTORY

A brief look at NASA's Shuttle Crawler at the Kennedy Space Center.

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Just after liftoff of the space shuttle Atlantis on July 8, 2011, Kennedy Space Center Mission Control notes the historic moment. NASA retired the 30-year-old space shuttle program, making this the final space shuttle flight.

On April 12, 1981, NASA launched the world's first reusable manned spacecraft. In the minutes before takeoff, Kennedy Space Center launch control communicates with astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen as they prepare to take Columbia on its first test flight into space and back.

As the space shuttle program comes to a close, Endeavor makes its final landing on June 1, 2011. Commander Mark Kelly, who guided the shuttle to Earth, comments on the historic flight.

On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia was 16 minutes away from touchdown after completing its 28th mission when a damaged heat protection tile caused the shuttle to incinerate, killing all seven crew members. Later that day, President George W. Bush informs the nation about the terrible disaster.

Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space when the shuttle Challenger takes off on June 18, 1983. The historical moment is noted in communication just after liftoff.

President Kennedy establishes his New Frontier with a challenge to venture into outer space. John Glenn became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth, one step in America's endeavor to land on the moon.