COLUMBIA - RETURNING TO KSC - POST-STS-1 - KSC

S81-32625 (April 1981) --- This scene represents the end of NASA's STS-1 mission and the beginning of STS-2 in that the orbiter Columbia is arriving at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin the lengthy process of preparing it for STS-2. The vehicle landed at Dryden Flight Research Center on April 14 after an historic 2 1/3 day flight in Earth orbit. It was mated to this 747 aircraft, titled NASA 905, and flown over the USA to its Florida destination. It was later removed from atop NASA 905 and moved to the orbiter processing facility for the beginning of refurbishment. Photo credit: NASA