These were . They were just kind of glorified canisters. They were little capsules. Or they may say, wow. People really went to space. I wonder why they quit. We dont know what the future is going to hold yet, but these artifacts certainly speak to the past and may provoke thought among people in the future. Watch american artifacts every sunday here on cspan3s American History tv. To see this and similar programs, visit our website, cspan. Org history. 35 years ago on april 12th, 1981, Space Shuttle columbia lifted off from the Kennedy Space center in florida with two crew members onboard. Launching a new era in manned space flight. Next on reel america, Space Shuttle, a remarkable flying machine. A 30minute nasa documentary on the story of the inaugural twoday mission. 22 years later, after 28 missions, Space Shuttle columbia and their sevenmember crew were lost when the craft disintegrated on reentry on february 1st of 2003. The Shuttle Program was retired in 2011. Sunday, april 12t