The project had cost $10bn and about a decade to achieve.

NASA introduced the first shuttle, 'The Enterprise', to an astonished world during a ceremony at Palmdale, California, on this day.

The first space shuttle flight occurred in 1977. The shuttle was launched on the back of a Boeing 747 which released it at a height of 25,000 feet. The shuttle glided back, safely, to earth (to the Edwards Air Force Base).

Regular flights then began on 12 April 1981, when 'The Columbia' launched into space for a two day mission.