if all goes according to plan, "columbia," this nation's first space shuttle, will fly like a skylark next march. >> if the shuttle program works the way it's designed to, it will be a technological feat marveling that of the trip to the moon. >> the space shuttle had new systems, new technology. the primary thing is the fly by wire system. you don't have pulleys and cables, it's all done by electronics. all the commands go through a computer. >> built as the world's first reusable spaceship, one that would commute to space carrying scientists and satellites. >> the most important thing was the digital revolution of faster, more powerful computers with complex software. >> computers are absolutely necessary to fly a spacecraft like the shuttle. it's the most sophisticated, most complex system that has been put into space yet. >> first time i saw "columbia"