On September 17, 1976, NASA publicly unveiled its first space
shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdale, California. Development of the aircraft-like spacecraft cost almost $10
billion and took nearly a decade. In 1977, the Enterprise became
the first space shuttle to fly freely when it was lifted to a height
of 25,000 feet by a Boeing 747 airplane and then released, gliding
back to Edwards Air Force Base on its own accord.

Regular flights of the space shuttle began on April 12, 1981, with
the launching of Columbia from Cape Canaveral, Florida.