A new series of U.S. Postage stamps, The 1980s, is unveiled at the KSC Visitors Complex. Taking part in the "First Day of Issue Ceremony" were astronaut Richard Linnehan, U.S. Representative, 15th Congressional District, Dave Weldon, U.S. Postal Service District Manager Viki Brennan, Center Director Roy Bridges and President of the Visitor Complex Rick Abramson. Among the stamps issued is one of Space Shuttle Columbia (upper left corner), first launched in April 1981. This collection of stamps is the ninth in the Post Office's "Celebrate the Century" commemorative series honoring the last 100 years of American history KSC00pp0022

The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.