THE SHUTTLE COLUMBA The Shuttle Columbia was named after a small sailing vessel that operated out of Boston and circumvented the globe in 1787 and explored the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792. The river also bears the same name. One of the first ships of the U.S. Navy to circumvent the globe was named Columbia and the command module for the Apollo II lunar mission was also named Columbia. Columbia was the first Space Shuttle to fly into earth orbit and the first to have a female commander. It orbited the earth for two days and flew more than one million miles, landing April 14, 1981, about 10:21 a.m. at Edwards Air Force Base. Beginning in 1992 the orbiter Columbia was outfitted with extended Duration Orbiter hardware and embarked on the longest flight to date at that time. Flights after that typically lasted 13 to 16 days. The longest flight was launched on November,19, 1987 and lasted 17 days, 15 hours, 53 minutes, 18 seconds. Columbia began its final mission January 17th, 2003. This was its 28th flight. It was the 113th flight in 22 years of space shuttle launches. On February 1, 2003, Columbia broke apart in flames about 203 thousand feet or 39 miles over Texas at 9 a.m. That was 16 minutes before it was supposed to land in Florida. Columbia was traveling 12,500 miles per hour about 18 times the speed of sound.

About the Artist Jimmy Lane is proud to be a native of Oklahoma City, where from childhood he has accepted his gift of art as a way of life in true renaissance fashion. Art has more facets than a finely cut gem and Jimmy has explored most of it’s forms, from music and fine art to the martial arts. Jimmy is comfortable and confident with his many talents, artistic abilities and productivity. Jimmy considers teaching and the sharing of knowledge as another art form and among his artistic endeavors, Jimmy has taught in the public school system, state institutions and the private sector. Jimmy, in his youth, and at the time of this work (1981) was a "wannabe" pilot. He was fascinated with flight and intrigued, as were we all with the hardearned miracle of space exploration and the future role for mankind in space. This painting was his contribution. It was a dismal day as the count-down began. Launch time was close and the weather threatened. As the world watched, shuttle Columbia lifted off at about 7:00 a.m., April 12, 1981. In a fast paced world with knowledge growing meteorically in geometric proportions, with the future passing like a picket fence on the expressway, the moment of COLUMBIA'S first launch was frozen in time by Jimmy's artistry for all who wish to revisit the moment of America's “lift off” into the future. America and all of the world will always remember the first flight of the Columbia in 1981. We will never forget the seven brave men and women of her final voyage. This print has been produced, so that you and your family can remember one of the most important historical events of the century and the history of space travel.