COLUMBIA LANDING - EDWARDS AFB (EAFB), CA

S81-30455 (14 April 1981) --- The space shuttle Columbia with its landing gear in position near touchdown on a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base in the desert area of southern California. Aboard the spacecraft were astronauts John W. Young, STS-1 commander, and Robert L. Crippen, pilot. Their landing marked the completion of a successful two-and-a-third day flight in Earth orbit and the beginning of a new era of space transportation. A series of additional test flights will follow before the shuttle program becomes fully operational later in this decade. Photo credit: NASA