Today marks the 37th anniversary of a launch that forever changed space travel. On April 12, 1981, the space shuttle Columbia successfully launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and became the first reusable spacecraft to orbit Earth. The famous shuttle not only laid the groundwork for the success of NASA’s 30-year-long Space Shuttle Program, but also conducted invaluable space-based research during its 22-year journey.

The first-of-its-kind space flight was commanded by John Young, an astronaut whose experience included four previous trips to space and a walk on the Moon in 1972, and piloted by Robert Crippen, who went on to command three future space shuttle missions. The duo spent 54 hours piloting the craft, completing 36 orbits around Earth before successfully landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on April 14. The achievement showed that the unconventional craft — a winged vessel that underwent a rocket-like launch and a glider-like landing — contained both groundbreaking design and high functionality. But it goes without saying that creating such a craft wasn’t a quick and easy task.

Construction on Columbia, which was named after the first U.S. ship to circle the globe, began at Rockwell International’s main assembly facility in Palmdale, California, in 1975. Its innovative design had begun as the Space Shuttle Program’s prototype Enterprise, which wasn’t able to conduct space missions due to its lack of engines and heat shields. After years of construction, Columbia was sent to the Kennedy Space Center on March 25, 1979, with a preliminary launch date planned for late 1979. However, due to issues with its thermal protection system and main engines, the launch was delayed for nearly a year and a half. By the time April 1981 arrived, the craft was issue-free and ready for liftoff. Columbia launched into orbit on April 12, 1981 — exactly 20 years after Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth.

Columbia went on to complete three more proof-of-concept missions in 1981 and 1982 to ensure shuttle performance, reusability, and firmly establish its ability to launch and land safely. After successful demonstration, the craft embarked on its first operational mission November 11, 1982, where it deployed two commercial communication satellites into geosynchronous orbit. After this mission, Columbia remained Earth-bound for about a year to complete the construction of Spacelab — a reusable science lab designed to conduct space-based experiments. The first mission equipped with Spacelab launched November 28, 1983, with NASA and European Space Agency astronauts teaming up for their first dual shuttle mission. Together, they conducted 73 investigations involving atmospheric science, observations of Earth, astronomy, physics, and more on this single flight alone.