Antelope Valley commemorates first ever space shuttle landing Published April 22, 2010 By Diane Betzler Staff Writer PALMDALE, Calif. -- Over 100 people turned out to be a part of the Space Shuttle First Flight Commemoration that took place at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark in Palmdale, Calif., April 20. State, city, Air Force, NASA and Boeing officials joined to pay tribute to the thousands of space and aerospace workers who were part of the Space Shuttle team. "It's a very proud program for the Antelope Valley and especially for Air Force Plant 42," said Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford. Mayor Ledford said the city of Palmdale is proud to be part of the history of the Space Shuttle Program that started so long ago at Site 1, the home of all six shuttles. Site 1 was also the shuttles' maintenance site for many years. Edwards Air Force Base served as a primary alternate landing site and had the distinction of receiving the very first shuttle landing. On April 14, 1981 space shuttle Columbia made its first flight. STS-1 Columbia, the world's first reusable space vehicle, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and orbited the Earth 36 times before astronauts John Young, mission commander, and Bob Crippen, pilot, touched down on Rogers Dry Lake Bed, Runway 23, at Edwards. The flight took 54 hours, 20 minutes and 32 seconds and carried a development flight instrumentation and aerodynamic co-efficient identification payload. "We almost had another landing at Edwards today," Mayor Ledford said, referring to STS-131 Discovery, which launched April 5 and had to delay landing because of stormy weather conditions at Cape Canaveral. Edwards stood ready to receive the orbiter but as weather cleared, the space shuttle Discovery was granted permission to land at Kennedy Space Center, saving the program more than $1 million in added costs. "You only have to look around to see the contributions Plant 42 has made," Mayor Ledford said. He said those contributions are what earned the Antelope Valley the nickname 'Aerospace Valley'. Co-host for the event Jerry McKee, deputy associate for mission support at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center STS Space Transportation Systems, said the space shuttle is the reason many people came to work for NASA. "The Antelope Valley has proven to be an integral part of the space exploration program for five decades. Columbia's great journey started here in the Antelope Valley, the birthplace of all the orbiters," he said. "Before Columbia began its journey into space via Kennedy Space Center, the ship began a laborious 10-hour trek in Palmdale through the streets of Lancaster and over desert roads to Dryden," McKee recounted. McKee, who joined the shuttle program in 1984, called out a lot of the firsts that took place in the Antelope Valley and recalled that Columbia was loaded onto a 747 carrier aircraft here and made its first ferry flight to Kennedy Space Center. He said the X-15 program and the various lifting body programs paved the way for the Space Shuttle Program. "All of this led up to Columbia's first space mission and its safe return home." McKee said NASA could not have enjoyed the success of the Space Shuttle Program without the partnership with the City of Palmdale and Boeing, the shuttle contractor, and thanked both for their continued support to NASA. Robert Kahl, shuttle program manager for Boeing, joined the program 35 years ago and said he feels very fortunate to have been involved. He called the shuttles the most amazing flying machines ever built and said his experiences went well beyond his expectations because he was originally told he had about 18 months worth of work to do on the program. "Working at the birthplace of the space shuttle is truly an honor and a privilege. I believe that historians will look back on the shuttles that were built here in Palmdale as some of the greatest engineering and technological achievements in history," he said. "Space shuttle employees were the proudest employees at Plant 42," said Mayor Ledford. "And for good reason," he said. "They were the cream of the crop, certainly a special breed." Lt. Col. Ronald Cleaves, commander of Air Force Plant 42, called the Space Shuttle First Flight Commemoration a historic event. "It's truly a part of American history," he told those attending the celebrated occasion. "Air Force Plant 42 has a very rich history in the Antelope Valley. It's been here since the early 1950s," he said, reminding folks of its more than five decades of service to the nation. "The Air Force looks at air space and cyberspace as part of national security, so we really appreciate this tribute and contribution to American history," Colonel Cleaves said. The event ended with presentations and additional remarks by Bob Haueter, deputy chief of staff for Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, and Norm Hickling, deputy to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. Mr. Hickling said the Space Shuttle Program represents the best of the country and the best of mankind. "As long as our ancestors have walked the face of this Earth they have always wondered what's over the next hill, what's over the next ocean? Today we ask what's next, that is truly the question," Hickling said. He said the Antelope Valley is ready for the next challenge. "The Space Shuttle Program is a testament to the people and to the human capital that is here in the Antelope Valley, " Mayor Ledford said. "When people ask, 'Where's Palmdale?' we can tell them with pride, 'It's where all the space shuttles were built.'" "We build cutting-edge technology. That is us," Mayor Ledford said.