Space Shuttle Columbia - STS-2 Launch
Channel: F-Man
Date: 2021-11-12

On this day in 1981, the second flight of the Space Shuttle - rather, the first flight of a reused Space Shuttle, thus fulfilling one of the program's key milestones. Commander Joe Engle and Pilot Richard Truly took Columbia on a 2-day mission featuring more flight testing of the vehicle, and the first of a litany of science equipment that would eventually become a staple of Space Shuttle missions. STS-2 also would be the second and last flight of the white external tank - it was determined that painting the tank was unnecessary, and that leaving the tank unpainted would save approximately 600 pounds of weight. 

This video is taken from NASA's official archive of the flight, and has been heavily upscaled via AI protocol. The audio is a custom composite, taking recordings of the launches of STS-117, STS-133, and STS-134. 

#HailColumbia
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