What was the name of the first space shuttle to orbit Earth?

Columbia was the first space shuttle to orbit Earth. It launched on April 12, 1981, on STS-1, the first orbital mission of NASA’s Space Shuttle program, with astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen aboard.

The mission was a carefully monitored test flight of a completely new crewed spacecraft. Columbia reached orbit from Kennedy Space Center and returned to Earth on April 14 after about 54.5 hours, completing 37 orbits. Its main objective was to demonstrate that the shuttle could launch, operate in space, re-enter, and land safely.

Columbia’s first orbital flight was historically unusual because NASA sent a crew aboard without first flying an uncrewed powered test of the shuttle. The orbiter had undergone extensive ground testing and atmospheric approach-and-landing tests, but STS-1 was its first spaceflight.

Enterprise is a common mix-up: it was the first shuttle orbiter built for the program, but it was used only for atmospheric and landing tests and never reached orbit. Columbia later flew 28 missions before being lost during re-entry in 2003.