Columbia was the first flight orbiter in the U.S. Space Shuttle program. Its first launch was April 12, 1981, with Robert Crippen and John W. Young aboard. Jack Lousma was commander of the third Columbia flight, March 22-30, 1982. Thomas Mattingly commanded the fourth Columbia flight in July 1982. Columbia had a long tenure in the space shuttle program. On June 5, 1991, the 41st flight of the shuttle program, Columbia carried Spacelab, where experiments were carried on with rats and jellyfish.