>> if it works the way it's been designed to work, it will be a technological fete like that of the moon. >> a space shuttle. new systems, new technology. fly by wear system. you don't have pulleys and cables, all done by electronics, all by commands coming through a computer. >> built as the world's first reusable spaceship, carrying satellites and scientists. >> the most important thing was the digital revolution of faster, more powerful computers with complex software. >> computers are absolutely necessary to fly a spacecraft like the shuttle. it's the most sophisticated, most complex system that has been put into space yet. >> first time i saw columbia and got close to it, my whole thought was, oh, my god, it's big. and this is going to go 17,500 miles per hour?