Space Shuttle Project

As the orbiter Columbia (STS-50) rolled down Runway 33 of Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility, its distinctively colored drag chute deployed to slow down the spaceship. This landing marked OV-102's first end-of-mission landing at KSC and the tenth in the program, and the second shuttle landing with the drag chute. Edwards Air Force Base, CA, was the designated prime for the landing of Mission STS-50, but poor weather necessitated the switch to KSC after a one-day extension of the historic flight. STS-50 was the longest in Shuttle program historyo date, lasting 13 days, 19 hours, 30 minutes and 4 seconds. A crew of seven and the USML-1 were aboard.