Space shuttle Columbia blasts off for final test flight 30 years ago this hour (1982)


Video: STS-4 launch and July 4, 1982 landing

(Sunday, June 27, 1982, 11:00:00 a.m. EST) — The U.S. space shuttle Columbia went into orbit today on its fourth and final test flight, carrying a secret military cargo and an array of experimental instruments.

The multi-mission Columbia, piloted by Ken Mattingly and Henry Hartsfield, began its week-long flight after a punctual lift-off.