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NASA

Shuttle Columbia Launched July 1st
News story originally written on July 2, 1997

The orbiter Columbia was launched July 1, 1997. This begins a 16-day mission.

The purpose of this mission is to study the micro-gravity of space. Micro-gravity means there is less gravity than on Earth. This is why people float around when they are in space. There is not enough gravity to hold them to the floor. The crew on this shuttle mission wants to do science experiments in this micro-gravity environment.

The shuttle Columbia is the oldest shuttle in the whole shuttle fleet. It has flown 86 million miles!

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