The Shuttle Era Begins
The International Space Station
In 1977, NASA conducted flight tests of the first space shuttle, Enterprise, with a modified 747 jumbo jet. The jet carried the orbiter into the air and back on several flights and released it in midair on several more.
The shuttle's first orbital mission began on April 12, 1981. That day, the shuttle Columbia was launched, with astronauts John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen at the controls. The 54-hour mission went perfectly. Seven months later, the vehicle made a second orbital flight, proving that a spacecraft could be reused.
Although the first four shuttle flights each carried only two pilots, the crew size was soon expanded to four, and later to seven or eight. Besides the two pilots, shuttle crews included mission specialists (experts in the operation of the shuttle) and payload specialists (experts in the scientific research to be performed).
The large capacity of the space shuttle's orbiter opened the possibility of including other passengers besides NASA astronauts and scientists. Citizens who participated in shuttle missions included representatives of the companies launching payloads and members of the U.S. Congress.
In 1984, NASA created a special "Space Flight Participant" program to offer the opportunity of space travel to more Americans. President Reagan announced that the first participant would be a schoolteacher. Later flights were expected to carry journalists, artists, and other interested civilians.