Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-2 LAUNCH - KSC

S81-39549 (12 Nov. 1981) --- Framed here by Florida vegetation, the 37-meter-tall (122 feet) NASA space shuttle Columbia lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA-Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Astronauts Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly begin the second space shuttle (STS-2) flight with at least two new items of cargo aboard. One is a collection of experiments developed by the Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications (OSTA) and another is a robot arm with in-space/in-cabin controls known as the remote manipulator system (RMS). Liftoff took place just a few seconds past 10:10 a.m. EST on Nov. 12, 1981. Photo credit: NASA