Who commanded the first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1?

John Young commanded STS-1, the first Space Shuttle mission. He flew with pilot Robert Crippen aboard Columbia on April 12, 1981.

STS-1 was an orbital test flight designed to check the shuttle’s performance during launch, orbit, reentry, and landing. Young was already a veteran astronaut: he had flown on Gemini 3, orbited the Moon on Apollo 10, and commanded Apollo 16’s lunar landing mission.

The mission lasted about 54 hours and completed 36 Earth orbits before Columbia landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. A common mix-up is naming Crippen, who was the pilot, rather than Young, the commander. Young later commanded STS-9, becoming the first person to travel into space six times.