Which space shuttle performed NASA's first night launch?

Challenger performed NASA’s first night launch by flying the STS-8 mission on August 30, 1983. The launch took place from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, making STS-8 the first shuttle mission to lift off after sunset.

The mission’s primary payload was Insat-1B, an Indian communications and weather satellite. Its required orbital trajectory determined the unusual schedule. STS-8 also tested the shuttle’s Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System with a large payload designed to evaluate the robotic arm’s movement and dynamics.

Challenger’s crew included five astronauts, among them Guion Bluford, who became the first African American to travel into space. The mission lasted just over six days and completed 98 orbits. Challenger also made the program’s first night landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The wording can cause a small mix-up: STS-8 was the first night launch of the Space Shuttle Program, but not the first crewed American spaceflight launched at night. Apollo 17 had already launched at night in 1972.