Shuttle 40 years ago

[mikegarrison]

I guess I missed the anniversary of the launch (April 12), but today is the 40th anniversary of the first Shuttle landing.

(RIP John Young -- walked on the moon and flew the first Shuttle mission.)

It was only 20 years between Vostok 1 and STS-1. It's been 40 years since. That's kind of wild.

[mikegarrison]

We see a similar progression in airplanes. It was about 30 years between the Wright Flyer and the DC-3. Another 30 years to the 747. It's been almost another 60 years, and modern airplanes don't seem all that grossly changed since the early 60s. (However, many things actually are different, like the fact that they now almost fly themselves, and you can instantly connect to almost anywhere in the world while you are flying on them.)

Edited April 15, 2021 by mikegarrison

[tater]

I watched a replay of the launch on the anniversary... Shuttle launches still make my hair stand on end.

[Gargamel]

Was watching For all Mankind the other day, and they were  using Stock footage of the shuttle.    God those were beautiful engines.