Twenty years ago this week, th Space Shuttle Columbia becamethe first reusable spaceship Its second trip to low Earth orbit and back again beganon November 12, 1981, following it maiden voyage by only seven months.Seen above Columbia, 56 meters (184 feet) long with a24 meter (78 foot) wingspan, is launched mated to anexternal fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters producingdramatic exhaust plumes.The solid rocket boosters,one on each side of the external tank, provide most of the thrust inthe first 2 minutes after launch and are then jettisoned forlater recovery.Supplying the main shuttle engines during liftoff, th external fuel tank separates after about 8 minutes.The largest shuttle element not recycled for a futureflight, the external tank falls backtoward Earth breaking up and descending into a remote ocean area.Still the oldest operating shuttle, Columbia i pictured herein June of 1992 rocketing toward a cloud bank o its twelfth flight.Officially designated OV-102, Columbia i fittingly named after the 18thcentury sailing vessel which became the firs Americanship to circumnavigate planet Earth.
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