> they started doing something they could have and should have been doing since the beginning. That was simply taking up a camera that could be attached to the Canadarm,
First shuttle launch, Columbia STS-1 12 April 1981.[0]
The Canadarm was first tested in orbit in 1981, on Space Shuttle Columbia's STS-2 mission [1] (12 November 1981)
It was always intended to be on the shuttle. It's not as if they conceived, designed, and then created it between STS-1 and STS-2. It was baked into the software and into the rear flight deck controls. It was late.
First shuttle launch, Columbia STS-1 12 April 1981.[0]
The Canadarm was first tested in orbit in 1981, on Space Shuttle Columbia's STS-2 mission [1] (12 November 1981)
So, not exactly since the beginning
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Space_Shuttle_missions
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadarm