posted 12-16-2007 09:33 AM               

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Kennedy workers refurbish Enterprise at Smithsonian
November 30, 2007

NASA's first space shuttle orbiter, Enterprise, recently received a facelift. Engineers and technicians from Kennedy Space Center planned, coordinated and performed the restoration work on the orbiter, designated OV-101. Enterprise is on exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's annex at the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.

Martin Boyd, a NASA orbiter vehicle structures engineer in the Mechanical Systems Division of the Engineering Directorate, led the refurbishment efforts on the vehicle named for the popular television science fiction show "Star Trek."

The project was funded through the Orbiter Project Office at Johnson Space Center, with NASA and United Space Alliance engineers and technicians performing the work.

Boyd said the first phase included removing all of the forward thermal window panes. He said extensive work was required to take them off because they corroded in place over time.

The team then cleaned and repainted the window frames and installed the original thermal windows that had been removed. The effort took two weeks during July.

The second phase included reinstalling the internal pressure windows and the crew module consoles. About 150 parts were inspected, cleaned and reinstalled on the vehicle in three weeks during September and October.

"The job was labor-intensive, but fun at the same time," Boyd said. "It was like working on the space shuttle in my own garage." Boyd said that all of the hardware and tools to perform the job had to be transported from Kennedy to the museum location. Enterprise was in full view to the public during the refurbishment.

Pat Floyd, the USA off-site lead project engineer, said the workers enjoyed sharing their knowledge as well as their shuttle experiences with the general public.

"This was a great experience for all and probably one the team will never forget," Floyd said. Enterprise was built by Rockwell in 1976 and transported to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards Air Force Base in California for the nine-month approach and landing test program in early 1977.

Two astronaut crews, Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton, and Joe Engle and Dick Truly, took turns flying the 150,000-pound spacecraft to free-flight landings.

Enterprise is in good company at the Smithsonian. The Udvar-Hazy Center also houses the Enola Gay, the SR-71 Blackbird, the Air France Concorde and a Pegasus rocket.

"The work was labor-intensive, but fun at the same time. It was like working on the space shuttle in my own garage."

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