Space exploration has changed and developed since the first man was sent into space. Advanced rockets, new computer technology, and remote-controlled robots are just some of the things that have made space travel possible. While this technology was efficient, it wasn't cheap. When a rocket was sent into space, only the capsule containing the astronauts returned to space. This expensive way of space travel was changed forever 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, completed missions that other spacecraft could not, and put 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 necessary to assist in the construction of the International Space Station (Dunbar “Space Shuttle” 1). However, Columbia was still used to discover scientific discoveries and was renamed Columbia in honor of the first American ship to travel around the earth and the command module of Apollo Eleven (Dunbar "Space Shuttle" 1). Columbia is also commonly called OV-102, or Orbiter Vehicle-102 (Dunbar “Space Shuttle,” 1). The first flight of Columbia, also known as STS-1 (Space Transportation System One), was launched on April 12, 1981, as a test flight of the combined performance of the external tank, the shuttle itself, and the solid rocket boosters. .center of sheet... vy Dive Team, the Texas Forest Service, the United States Forest Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency (Moffett 1). The area containing the shuttle parts was approximately 240 miles long and ten miles wide, stretching across eastern Texas and western Louisiana (Moffett 1). About 38% of the Columbia was found, 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 to its destruction during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere in 2003. Columbia ushered in a new era of space exploration and during its twenty-nine missions it achieved many firsts in space. The space shuttle Columbia was important to space exploration because it used new technology that changed space travel, completed missions that other spacecraft could not, and put new people into space..