What was the name of the first reusable orbital spacecraft to land after a spaceflight?

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Space Shuttle Columbia was the first reusable orbital spacecraft to land after a spaceflight.

Columbia flew the first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1, which launched on 12 April 1981 with astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen aboard. After 36 orbits, it landed at Edwards Air Force Base on 14 April.

The shuttle demonstrated that a piloted spacecraft could launch vertically, operate in orbit, and return as an unpowered glider. Its large thermal-protection system allowed it to survive atmospheric re-entry, while its wings enabled runway landing.

Columbia is sometimes confused with Enterprise, the first shuttle orbiter built for NASA. Enterprise performed atmospheric approach-and-landing tests but never reached orbit. Columbia was the first shuttle to complete an orbital mission.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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