Space Shuttle program March 25, 1979, and was first launched on April 12, 1981—the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight—with a crew of two. "Challenger" (OV-099) was delivered to KSC in July 1982, "Discovery" (OV-103) in November 1983, "Atlantis" (OV-104) in April 1985 and "Endeavour" in May 1991. "Challenger" was originally built and used as a Structural Test Article (STA-099), but was converted to a complete orbiter when this was found to be less expensive than converting "Enterprise" from its Approach and Landing Test configuration into a spaceworthy vehicle. On April 24, 1990, "Discovery" carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space during
Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space Orbit, Docking, Deorbit Burn, Reentry, and Landing, each with its own set of instructions to follow. The original Atari 2600 version came with an overlay since it made use of all the switches. In an April 1984 review for "Video Games" magazine, Dan Persons wrote: "Space Shuttle" is not a game for everybody. It requires a considerable amount of patience and, perhaps not too surprisingly, a considerable amount of brainpower. Players who seek the visceral thrills of the standard shoot'em-up may ultimately find this simulation's complexity frustrating. But those of you who are ready for a richer, more sophisticated experience