SLST-01

    SLST-01 was the inaugural flight of both the Space Shuttle Challenger and the entire Space Shuttle Program. Commanded by John BG, with Co-pilot Calvin Petri, Challenger lifted off of the pad at 1:34 PM CST. The flight reached a maximum altitude of 51 ft, and the Challenger landed back at the pad. 

     The Mission's goals were simply to fly and recover the Challenger successfully. SLST-01 was marked as a successful mission. 

Notes

       SLST-01 had the motto "Godspeed Challenger." This established a tradition of the first flight of each new orbiter being  "Godspeed _______." 

       Despite the success of the mission, some failures were definitely present. The flight telemetry was off for most of the flight, but not enough to call a mission failure. The Vertical Tail Fin was significantly damaged, and needed redesign for future ships. And the paint on the Challenger was chipped in several stress points.