Which space shuttle was the first to land at Kennedy Space Center?

The Space Shuttle Challenger was the first shuttle to land at Kennedy Space Center. It achieved that milestone during STS-41-B on February 11, 1984, when it touched down at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility after nearly eight days in orbit.

STS-41-B launched from Kennedy on February 3, 1984, and was the tenth shuttle mission. The crew deployed the Westar 6 and Palapa B2 communications satellites, although both ended up in unusable orbits because their Payload Assist Modules malfunctioned. They were later retrieved by Discovery during STS-51-A.

The mission is also famous for Bruce McCandless II’s first untethered spacewalk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit. The landing itself was historically important because most early shuttle missions landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Challenger’s successful return to its Florida launch site demonstrated that Kennedy could support routine shuttle landings as well as launches.