STS-1 Landing at Edwards - Cockpit Views, Ambient Audio, Real-time, First Shuttle, NASA, 1981, TV

Real-time landing of Columbia at Edwards, on the first shuttle mission (STS-1, April 1981). Onboard film was placed at the approximate times it was taken and is shown at real speed. Initial cockpit segments are from the side window, later ones are from the front window filming the runway.
Mission control and tracking sequences were reconstructed based on the NASA feed and TV broadcasts. Ambient audio was extracted from a TV broadcast. The cuts correspond to news anchor comments, where sound was replaced with the corresponding mission audio.

Includes footage from LM5    • The Greatest Test Flight - STS-1 (Ful...  

Research, video cleanup, remastering, and editing by Retro Space HD.

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STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on April 12, 1981 and returned on April 14, 1981, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 36 times. Columbia carried a crew of two – mission commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen.

Most of this first orbiter entry was flown automatically. An initial angle of attack of 40° had to be maintained until through the most severe aerodynamic heating after which it was gradually reduced. At about 100,000 m (330,000 ft) altitude a light pink airglow caused by entry heating became visible, and both crew members lowered their visors. Columbia had to maneuver 583 km (362 mi) "cross-range" of its orbital ground track to reach the planned landing site during the entry. Consequently, a roll into a right bank was flown when the air density had increased sufficiently to raise dynamic pressure to 570 Pa (0.083 psi) (with speed still in excess of Mach 24 and approximately 78,000 m (256,000 ft) altitude). Automatic roll reversals to control energy dissipation rate and cross-range steering were performed at around Mach 18.5 and Mach 9.8. The crew clearly observed the coast of California as Columbia crossed it near Big Sur at Mach 7 and 41,000 m (135,000 ft). Both the Mach 4.8 and Mach 2.8 roll reversals were automatically initiated and manually completed by John Young. The last RCS jet firing took place at an altitude of 17,000 m (56,000 ft) — 4,300 m (14,100 ft) lower than desired (due to predicted risk of combustion chamber explosion).

Young again took manual control for the remainder of the flight as they went subsonic approaching the Heading Alignment Circle (HAC). A wide left turn was flown to line up with lakebed runway 23, whilst T-38 "Chase 1", crewed by astronauts Jon McBride and "Pinky" Nelson joined formation. Main gear touchdown occurred on runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, at 339 km/h (211 mph) equivalent airspeed, slightly slower and around 800 m (2,600 ft) further down the runway than planned. This was the result of a combination of better than predicted Orbiter lift-to-drag ratios and tailwind. Touchdown time was 18:21 UTC on April 14, 1981.[14] As they rolled to a stop, Young remarked over the radio, "This is the world's greatest all-electric flying machine. I'll tell you that. That was super!"
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