Which space shuttle was the first to successfully launch into space?

The first space shuttle to successfully launch into space was Columbia, which completed its mission on April 12, 1981. This marked a significant milestone in the history of human spaceflight, as Columbia’s STS-1 mission was the inaugural flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The mission demonstrated several key elements of the shuttle system, including launch, orbit, and re-entry.

Prior to Columbia, there was another shuttle known as Enterprise, which was used for testing purposes primarily in atmospheric flights, but it never flew in space. The other shuttles mentioned, such as Discovery and Endeavour, were later additions to the fleet and did not have the historical significance of being the first in space. Thus, Columbia is recognized as the first shuttle that accomplished the full mission of reaching space, leading to a new era of reusable spacecraft technology.