Which launch complex was used for the first Space Shuttle launch?

The first Space Shuttle launch used Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off from the pad on April 12, 1981, beginning the STS-1 mission.

Complex 39 had originally been built for the Apollo-Saturn V program. NASA adapted its facilities for the shuttle, including the Vehicle Assembly Building, crawler-transporter route, launch control infrastructure, and the fixed and rotating service structures. The shuttle’s launch location is often shortened to “Pad 39A,” but Launch Complex 39A is the full designation.

The nearby 39B pad also launched many later shuttle missions, including flights involving Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. The other listed choices were associated with different launch vehicles or NASA operations, not the first shuttle flight. STS-1’s Columbia launched from 39A after an earlier attempt was scrubbed because of a computer timing problem.