From the time the program’s approval to the moment of its launching, the Columbia project was plagued by numerous obstacles and errors — even deadly accidents. Postponements were frequent. It was no wonder that those delays turned public expectation into a strong anxiety, which grew unbearable in the last days.

When my VIP accreditation from NASA finally arrived in the mail, I couldn’t find vacancies in any hotel within the Cape Cañaveral area. I had to stay in a hotel west of Orlando — two hours from the Space Center. I left that hotel Thursday, April 9, at 11 p.m., and drove through a real maze of unknown highways. Carefully watching and reading every sign, I finally reached Merrit Island, the location of the Space Center.

The gates of the Center opened at three a.m. and the closer I got the heavier the traffic became. Finally I reached State Road 3 leading into the Space Center. A thick fog covered the skies at that hour. The lamps on both sides of the road cast an eerie light from invisible poles, appearing like floating UFOs.

I arrived late, at about 7 a.m. However, the countdown had been stopped. A problem with the space ship electric cells produced an excess of water in the supply deposits. A switch to local electric power was enough to solve it. The serious one came later: two computers couldn’t perform a civilized handshake.

The four primary computers and the backup one had to be in perfect synchronization. These computers translate the astronauts’ instructions into real commands to the ship. A failure in copying an instruction would be fatal. And this was a serious failure in synchronization.

They loaded the program into the computer again, hoping to get a good handshake (intercomputer communication) in time for the launching. Another test was performed, but the backup computer was still 1/25 of a second behind synchronization. This is just the blink of a human eyelid. However, in computer time, this represents total disaster. They should be able to synchronize among their components 440 times each second, to perform 325,000 tasks per second.

The Shuttle could not sail up with a malfunctioning computer. We all heard the notification of the cancellation of the launching at 10 a.m. If they could correct the error, maybe, the launching should be possible on Sunday. For a moment, I thought everybody was going to rush out of the complex. It was not like that, though. Nobody wanted to leave. While dragging their feet out, some people commented: “I wonder how the astronauts feel.” Somebody added: “They are used to it.”

It was easier for me to come back to John F. Kennedy Space Center. On the launch day, only those who went to the Center out of duty, like news media people, or those previous spectators who were optimistic returned. The vast majority preferred to watch in on television in the comfort of their homes. When the spaceship finally left at 7 a.m. April 12, the emotions of the present were rewarding enough. And so it was for Science in general and Space Science in particular.

How important is the Shuttle and why does it represent a gigantic step forward in space technology? The answer lies in its load capacity. Its loading bay (18.3 m long, 4.6 m diameter) can house a load of used or new artificial satellites up to 29,500. That makes the Shuttle the first space truck in history.

A loaded Shuttle would allow a rapid colonization of the Universe. It can take “up” construction materials to build up space labs, experimental colonies and metal melting factories (lack of gravity would make this job extremely easy). Huge blocks would be easily transported to construct solar energy stations, which will supply power to an energy hungry planet.

Space launching stations could be built, such as the one shown in the popular film 2001, a Space Odyssey. From there man could hop to other planets, Mars among them. On its way back to Earth, the Shuttle can easily pick up out-of-order or worn out satellites, that otherwise would become space debris, not to mention its unlimited military capability.

Today’s big communication corporations are already interested in the Shuttle and are also ready to pay for its services. AT&T plans to use the 1984 flight to place a new Telstar 3 satellite in orbit. Some countries have already rented load space, among them, Australia, Canada, Colombia, United Kingdom, Japan and Luxembourg, as well as an Arab consortium. If demand increases, NASA would project 400 flights in the next ten years.

Only a handful of possibilities on what to do with the Shuttle has reached the public. However, anyone with common sense and a bit of imagination can have an ample scope of the immense world the Shuttle opens to humanity. Sciences would benefit greatly. Ecology, Energetics, Meteorology, Oceanography, Cartography, Agriculture and Medicine are among the first.

Astronomy, particularly, will receive a big boost. Using the Shuttle, the placing of huge telescopes in orbit will be possible. They will produce the neatest images ever of the supposed limits of the Universe. Their lenses would enable man to photograph a 30cm2 surface on Earth from space and get remarkably precise details. Those lenses are similar to the ones used already to detect the falling of heat protective tiles off the Columbia.

To many, the launching of Columbia meant the beginning of a Second Space Age, a mission that ended with one of the perfect landing ever seen by man. When arriving at a speed seven times that of the sound, Bob Crippen described it with this phrase: “What a way to come to California!”

Already used to the flight, Crippen’s heartbeats went up to only 85, while Young’s went up to 135, being the landing of a spaceship a really new experience for him. The TV image of the space plane, sliding easily on the Mojave strip, Southern California, had a tranquilizing effect on me. It was a soft, yet profound emotion. With it, the Shuttle mission ended. It cost more than nine billion dollars, but the direct and indirect benefits for the human race will make that amount look insignificant.

The launching of Columbia took place four years after the successful fifth and final test of the Enterprise , flown by Fred Haise and Gorden Fullerton on May 22, 1977. There are people who can’t tell them apart. Enterprise was a pioneer ship. Columbia was the real thing.

Columbia was the one with the long and tragic sequel of delays, somehow irritating to the public. The question was, “Would this ship, with so many malfunctions, work? Will the tiles tick?” After all, they seemed to be glued on with a spat.

There was only a good reason for the delay. The lives of the astronauts were top priority. The tiniest maladjustment or the slightest risk, the Shuttle is grounded.

Slowly and carefully, they rectified all mistakes and repaired all defects. Still, despite all precautions, a minor malfunction occurred during the flight with the heating system. Luckily, the Houston team remedied it immediately.

Astronauts live in a weightless space. This affects them and all things around them. With no gravity, things do not fall down. In space, “up” and “down” are relative concepts, not a reality. Astronauts can walk on the floor, on the walls and on the ceiling. The “world” changes its patterns. Things that are easy on Earth, become hard in space.

Liquids become floating spheres. Eating and drinking become cosmic rituals. Cooking is done in ovens activated by pressurized air. Food preparations last around twenty minutes. Meals, packed individually, could be dehydrated, eaten in natural state, irradiated or thermostabilized. Utensils are cleaned with towels soaked in an ammonia solution. There is no refrigerator.

A personal hygienic station covers all physical and biological needs to both men and women. It includes rest rooms, personal kits, towels and toilet paper dispensers.
Astronauts do their essential bodily functions in special bowls, with their bodies well adjusted to their shape and with foot straps and handrails needed for balance, to prevent weightlessness to spread organic waste in the cabin.

On the other hand, weightlessness has a formidable advantage when sleeping time comes. It allows men to hang, like cocoons. Any position is comfortable.

With the successful launching of the Shuttle Columbia, a new horizon opens up showing an infinite number of possibilities for man to enjoy, for scientists to study, and for artists to create. Human beings will reach the farthest corners of the Universe. Some day, interplanetary traveling would be as common as today’s intercontinental traveling. Many concepts will change once men can float in a world where conceptual categories such as “high” and “low” no longer exist. On April 12, 1981, Space Colonization actually began. Now Man has another chance to renew his old and withered pioneer soul.