SPACE HISTORY: 37 Years Ago Space Shuttle Columbia Launched on Her Third Mission

By  //  March 24, 2019

The 8 day mission continued the initial testing of the Space Shuttle

ABOVE VIDEO: On March 22, 1982, Space Shuttle Columbia launched on her third mission – STS-3 – at 11:00 am Eastern Time from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Launch Complex 39A.

BREVARD COUNTY • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA – On March 22, 1982, Space Shuttle Columbia launched on her third mission – STS-3 – at 11 a.m. Eastern Time from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Launch Complex 39A. 

With astronaut Jack Lousma as commander and Gordon Fullerton as pilot, this 8 day mission continued the initial testing of the Space Shuttle. It also marked a number of firsts in the Shuttle Program.

This was the first shuttle mission to launch without the External Tank painted white – this saved 272 kilograms (600 pounds). STS-3 was the first, and only, mission to land at White Sands, New Mexico.

Every other Shuttle mission landed at either Edwards Air Force Base or Kennedy Space Center.

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