26K views · 984 reactions | The STS-1 mission launched NASA astronauts John W. Young and Robert Crippen into space for a 54.4 hour, 36 orbit test flight of Space Shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981. | Space.com | Facebook

On November 22, 1989, the space shuttle Discovery launched on mission STS-33. Explore more space history 👉 https://trib.al/UpFK6Dv It lifted off from Kennedy Space Center and up into the dark of night. This was the third nighttime launch of the shuttle program and the 32nd shuttle mission overall. Discovery had five astronauts on board. Their mission was to deploy a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense. NASA and the military launched several secretive shuttle missions to deploy