Space exploration has changed and developed since the first man was sent into space. Advanced rockets, new computer technologies, and remote-controlled robots are just some of the things that have made space travel possible. Although this technology was effective, it was not cheap. When a rocket was sent into space, only the capsule containing the astronauts returned to space. This expensive way of traveling in space was forever changed with the creation of the Space Shuttle. The Space Shuttle Columbia was important to space exploration because it used new technology that changed space travel, accomplished missions that other spacecraft could not, and took new people into space. NASA received a contract to build the shuttle on July 26, 1972 as a prototype. named Enterprise (Dunbar “Space Shuttle” 1). Construction began on March 25, 1975 at the Rockwell International assembly plant in Palmdale, California, and was completed and ready for its first flight on April 12, 1981 (Dunbar "Space Shuttle" 1). The first reusable spacecraft was too heavy, weighing 178,000 pounds, and lacked the tools needed to help build the International Space Station (Dunbar “Space Shuttle” 1). However, Columbia was still used to discover scientific breakthroughs and was renamed Columbia in honor of the first American ship to travel around the Earth and the Apollo Command Module Eleven (Dunbar "Space Shuttle" 1). Columbia is also commonly referred to as OV-102, or Orbiter Vehicle-102 (Dunbar "Space Shuttle", 1). The first flight of the Columbia, also known as STS-1 (Space Transportation System One), launched in April. 12, 1981, as a test flight of the combined performance of the external tank, the shuttle itself and the solid rocket boosters...... middle of paper ......vy Dive Team, Texas Forest Service, the United States Forest Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency (Moffett 1). The area containing shuttle parts was approximately 240 miles long and ten miles wide, and extended across eastern Texas and western Louisiana (Moffett 1). Approximately thirty-eight percent of the Columbia was recovered, along with the bodies of the crew (Dunbar “STS-107” 1). Overall, the Space Shuttle Columbia contributed greatly to space exploration, from its construction in 1981 until its destruction upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere in 2003. The Columbia ushered in a new era of space exploration and , during its twenty-nine missions, achieved many firsts in space. The Space Shuttle Columbia was important to space exploration because it used new technology that changed space travel, accomplished missions that other spacecraft could not, and brought new people into space..