T O P I C R E V I E W |
heng44 | Exactly 40 years ago Space Shuttle Orbiter 101 was under construction at the Rockwell facility in Palmdale, California. The vehicle would be named Enterprise when it was rolled out on September 17, 1976. |
capcom | Good photograph, it's sad this vehicle never made it into space. |
moorouge | But it did make it to Stansted Airport. |
capcom | That's very true and I missed it. |
randy | It made many contributions to the shuttle program as a test bed. I would still like to see it someday. |
328KF | Having seen the SCA flying with an orbiter on top, the thought of not only stacking Enterprise on top of a 747, but releasing it in flight must have seemed insane at the time. I have a few signed items from the ALT program, and I still find it to be a facinating part of shuttle history. |
AstronautBrian | I remember the Enterprise was on display at the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. On the flight in, the 747 carrying Enterprise made a few circles over downtown Baton Rouge. It was a neat thing to see. I have a picture of it somewhere in New Orleans; I'll have to see if I can dig it up the next time I visit the parents. |
Rick Mulheirn | I was fortunate to be at Stansted the day Enterprise paid the UK a visit. The photos do not give a true sense of scale for the whole assembly. The chap just off camera on the bottom photo is showing a group of school children the typical location for an astronaut's head.
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Philip | And four decades later some get excited about an External Tank on the move... Sad times. |
Robert Pearlman | Why should it bad sad to see an external tank on the move? That certainly wasn't the atmosphere along the route yesterday. Thousands of people turned out to see the tank pass by their homes, by their places of business or at scenic locations along the way. They got to meet astronauts, learn about the history of the space shuttle program and be reminded of the great facility they have in their city, the California Science Center. |
Ronpur | At this point in construction, wasn't it still planned to be named Constitution? I have always wondered if that name was started to be painted. I have never seen photos of Enterprise being painted on, but it must have been done almost within days of the rollout. |
Fra Mauro | Better to see the ET "on the move", then being scrapped. I do understand the nostalgic feelings that some people might have. |
robsouth | I still don't know why the real shuttles didn't go with the laser gun sticking out of the nosecone heatshield. |
Cozmosis22 | Philip, would venture to guess that our sadness comes in the difference between "a brisk walking pace" and Mach 25. |
OV-105 | quote: Originally posted by robsouth: I still don't know why the real shuttles didn't go with the laser gun sticking out of the nosecone heatshield.
It was the laser gun or the galley. NASA went with the galley since the astronauts like to eat. |