Author Topic: OV-101 Enterprise – It’s Been A Long Way (Read 146836 times)

Ares67 · « **Reply #343 on:** 10/18/2014 09:34 pm »

The Voyage Home

“Like the ‘Fir Tree’ of Hans Christian Andersen, this craft awaits the moment when it can come out of the nation’s aeronautical attic, to stand once more in the open as on the day of its rollout in 1976, and to find itself surrounded again by throngs of people.”

- Thomas A. Heppenheimer, “Development of the Space Shuttle 1972-1981”

“Let’s make sure that history never forgets the name Enterprise.”

- Captain Jean-Luc Picard, STNG episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” 1990

(By Keith Cowing)

This past Thursday, November 20, 2003, after spending exactly 18 years in a non-descript hangar at Dulles International Airport, just outside Washington D.C., Space Shuttle Enterprise was moved to her new home. Instead of sitting in dark, unglamorous storage, Enterprise is now in a bright place of honor. Her new home is the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located to the east of Dulles. The Museum has been under construction for several years and is due to open to the public on December 15, 2003.

While I was not present for this "rollover", I recently visited the museum for the delivery of the XV-15 tilt rotor aircraft and am planning to attend a press preview briefing on December 5 prior to the museum’s formal opening. If you have seen the immense museum in downtown Washington D.C., stretch your imagination and picture a giant hangar-shaped structure easily capable of enclosing the entire downtown museum – with a lot of room to spare. Indeed, it is eerily reminiscent of the aft cargo bay of a Constitution-class starship. Enterprise will have some famous company: Enola Gay, an SR-71, the first Boeing 707, a Concorde SST, the Apollo Lunar Quarantine Facility, and hundreds of other notable aircraft and hardware.

Enterprise flew only 5 missions on her own - all in 1977 - none of which ever left the Earth's atmosphere. While some consideration was given to modifying Enterprise to fly in space, these plans were discarded when it was determined that a substantial portion of the vehicle would have to be replaced so as to make it light enough to carry a meaningful payload into space. It would be cheaper to simply build a new, lighter shuttle.

Unlike her Star Trek namesake, there would be no refitting of Enterprise. But like her famous namesake, she would still go on to serve for many years to come. Although Enterprise was destined to stay on Earth, some of her components were refurbished and eventually flown on other shuttles. After serving as a public relations centerpiece at a variety of international venues in the early 1980s, Enterprise was retired - with thought given to her eventual exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution. Eventually she was delivered to a Smithsonian storage location at Dulles on November 18, 1985.

One small problem: where to exhibit her? There was no room for her downtown – and a "Dulles Annex" for the Air and Space Museum was just a concept – one without funding (the same goes for Metrorail to the same airport). As such, Enterprise would have to wait nearly two decades until the money was found and a new home was completed.

When Enterprise was first unveiled in 1976 it was to the strains of the theme from the original Star Trek series. This time the rollover to her new home was much less spectacular – indeed, only a few media were present. As such, Enterprise will have to wait for the formal dedication of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center to enjoy another moment in the public’s attention. Given the enormity of this magnificent new museum, the world will certainly be watching.

(Keith Cowing, “Space Shuttle Enterprise Has a New Home,” SpaceRef, Nov. 22, 2003 – edited)

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=897

Ares67 · « **Reply #344 on:** 10/18/2014 09:38 pm »

Hi, ladies! I’m glad and thankful I got a chance of meeting both of you during 1983 and 1998, respectively…

Those were the days!

Ares67 · « **Reply #345 on:** 10/18/2014 09:40 pm »

Ares67 · « **Reply #346 on:** 10/18/2014 09:41 pm »

Reunion

"To the Enterprise and to the Intrepid Museum I say, live long and prosper in your final resting place."

- Senator Charles E. “Chuck” Schumer (D-New York), speaking during Enterprise’s arrival ceremonies at JFK

(By Tom Caldwell)

On Friday, April 27, 2012, the Shuttle Enterprise landed in New York City mounted atop a Boeing 747 jumbo jet at 11:22 a.m. EDT, after taking off from Washington D.C. earlier that morning. It was a historic day for science and space exploration: a day that marked the end, in spirit, of the STS program and the beginning of a new type of space exploration vehicle that may one day take us back to the moon and beyond. In attendance for this momentous occasion was none other than Star Trek‘s original Spock, Leonard Nimoy.

What is so remarkable about the Enterprise is that it was the first space shuttle built by NASA that would determine the fate of all future space flights using the STS design. To our greater relief, astonishment, and most certainly pride, the Enterprise, named after Star Trek’s famed space exploration cruiser both literally and spiritually, did indeed surpass our expectations. With some design improvements and slight modifications, NASA continued to use the STS Space Shuttles for nearly four decades in scientific discovery and space exploration.

Even more telling of Star Trek’s intimate connection to NASA’s ongoing mission was the fact that Leonard Nimoy, Spock himself, was present at Enterprise’s beginning and end. “This is a reunion for me,” Nimoy said in a speech on Friday discussing the Enterprise’s final landing. “Thirty-five years ago, I met the Enterprise for the first time.” He recalled that his memory of the Enterprise’s departure from the ground on February 15, 1977, was still vivid today as it was when it first took off. Leonard Nimoy bid his final farewell to the legendary craft by offering his famous catchphrase: “Live long and prosper.”

Even Gene Roddenberry himself was present at the Enterprise’s dedication ceremony in 1976. Though he sadly passed away before he could ever see the Enterprise in its final flight to mark the end of the now historic STS program, the famed space shuttle will always stand in memoriam to Rodenberry’s vision of the future and for all of Star Trek.

Now, we look to the future, the undiscovered country: a place of unimaginable wonder, beauty, and mystery. To boldy go where no man has gone before. That has always been our motto, and we shall continue to live up to it as we head into space with the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) design to send humans back into space, back to the moon and hopefully far beyond to finally reach the cold, inhospitable surface of Mars.

(Tom Caldwell, “Leonard Nimoy Welcomes Space Shuttle Enterprise to New York,” Trek News, Apr. 29, 2012 – edited)

http://www.treknews.net/2012/04/29/leonard-nimoy-welcomes-space-shuttle-enterprise-to-new-york/

http://blog.proofpositivephoto.com/2012/04/space-shuttle-enterprise-lands-at-jfk.html

Ares67 · « **Reply #347 on:** 10/18/2014 09:44 pm »

Ares67 · « **Reply #348 on:** 10/18/2014 09:47 pm »

Ares67 · « **Reply #349 on:** 10/18/2014 09:50 pm »

The Undiscovered Country

“The undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns…”

- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1

“Fate protects fools, little children and ships called Enterprise.”

- Commander William T. Riker, STNG episode “Contagion,” 1989

On April 12, 2011, NASA announced that Space Shuttle Discovery, the most traveled orbiter in the fleet, would be added to the Smithsonian collection once the shuttle fleet was retired. On December 12, 2011, ownership of the Enterprise was officially transferred to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. In preparation for the anticipated relocation, engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft once again.

At approximately 9:40 a.m. EDT, on April 27, 2012, Enterprise took off from Dulles International Airport en-route to a fly-by over the Hudson River, New York's JFK International Airport, the Statue of Liberty, the George Washington and Verrazano-Narrows Bridges, and several other landmarks in the city, in an approximately 45-minute "final tour". At 11:23 a.m. EDT, Enterprise touched down at JFK International Airport.

The mobile Mate-Demate Device and cranes were transported from Dulles to the ramp at JFK and the shuttle was removed from the SCA overnight on May 12, 2012, placed on a specially designed flat bed trailer and returned to Hangar 12. On June 3 a Weeks Marine barge took Enterprise to Jersey City. The shuttle sustained cosmetic damage to a wingtip when a gust of wind blew the barge towards a piling. It was hoisted June 6 onto the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan.

The Enterprise went on public display on July 19, 2012, at the Intrepid Museum's new Space Shuttle Pavilion, a temporary shelter consisting of a pressurized, air-supported fabric bubble constructed on the aft end of the carrier's flight deck. On October 29, 2012, storm surges from Hurricane Sandy caused Pier 86, including the Intrepid Museum's visitor center, to flood, and knocked out the museum's electrical power and both backup generators. The loss of power caused the Space Shuttle Pavilion to deflate, and high winds from the hurricane caused the fabric of the Pavilion to tear and collapse around the orbiter. Minor damage was spotted on the vertical stabilizer of the orbiter, as a portion of the tail fin above the rudder/speed brake had broken off. The broken section was recovered by museum staff. While the pavilion itself could not be replaced for some time in 2013, the museum erected scaffolding and sheeting around Enterprise to protect it from the environment.

By April 2013, the damage sustained to Enterprise's vertical stabilizer had been fully repaired, and construction work on the structure for a new pavilion was under way. The exhibit was closed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. The pavilion and exhibit reopened on July 10, 2013. The Enterprise was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 13, 2013, reference number 13000071, in recognition of its role in the development of the Space Shuttle program. The historic significance criteria are in space exploration, transportation, and engineering.

(“Space Shuttle Enterprise,” Wikipedia – edited)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise

Ares67 · « **Reply #350 on:** 10/18/2014 09:55 pm »

Ares67 · « **Reply #351 on:** 10/18/2014 09:56 pm »

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/Space_Shuttle_Pavilion.aspx

Ares67 · « **Reply #352 on:** 10/18/2014 10:02 pm »

Whatever happened to…

… NASA’s original Boeing 747 SCA 905?

Of course you all know where it has gone recently, but I think this should be added for the sake of completeness.

You probably know from my earlier comments in other threads that it’s my opinion one of the retired shuttle orbiters should have gone to Johnson Space Center – Enterprise probably should sit atop that SCA. But now that’s one of the next best solutions and somehow I’ve made my peace with the New York City decision. After all, it’s more important that we still can enjoy these magnificent birds close-up and personal, wherever they may be nesting now.

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-043014a-nasa905-shuttle-aircraft-move.html

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-081414a-rise-of-independence-shuttle.html

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-081814a-houston-see-space-shuttle.html

Ares67 · « **Reply #353 on:** 10/18/2014 10:05 pm »

SCA – A Little Stroll Down Memory Lane

In June 1989, Nigel Macknight’s Spaceflight News published an interview with SCA Project Pilot Ace Beale. He described some of the differences in handling characteristics between flying with and without the orbiter aboard:

“With the orbiter aboard, there’s a sense of top-heaviness, especially when rolling in and out of turns. Also, you can tell you have a lot more drag. That’s very evident. Our fuel consumption goes up from about 25,000 pounds an hour at cruise without the orbiter on top, to about 40,000 pounds an hour at cruise with the orbiter aboard. We fly in the most docile manner that we can with the orbiter aboard. I don’t think anyone flies it beyond about 20 to 25 degrees of bank angle.”

NEVER EVER DO THAT TO AN SCA!

Beale explained that there were four principal categories of restrictions applying to pilots flying the SCA which do not apply to pilots flying standard airline-specification 747s. They were as follows:

- Indicated Air Speed (IAS) was limited to 250 knots. Because this was the maximum design speed for the protruding support structures which bore the orbiter, the 250-knot limitation applied whether an orbiter vehicle was being transported or not.

- The SCA was never allowed to be flown with the orbiter aboard when the ambient air temperature was below 15 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8 degrees Centigrade). This was because, on the type of long-duration flight the SCA typically made when ferrying an orbiter, there was a risk of fluids within the spacecraft freezing and causing serious damage.

No fluids were drained from the orbiter after a space mission; any draining that was required took place once the orbiter had arrived at KSC to undergo preparations for its next mission. Although a supply of electrical power flowed from the SCA into the (essentially inert) orbiter to maintain various systems at their proper temperature, fluids such as the hypergolic propellants in the OMS engines, and water in lines running through various regions of the fuselage, were vulnerable to freezing on a long ferry flight.

- When the orbiter was aboard, the SCA wasn’t allowed to be flown in conditions where the ambient air pressure dropped below 8 psi. This limitation was imposed because, without due care, the orbiter’s avionics could have been under-pressurized during a ferry flight. In practice, the 8-psi minimum pressure limit meant that the SCA/orbiter combination was not flown above an altitude of 16,000 feet.

The orbiter’s avionics were certified down to 8 psi, which was the lowest pressure they were ever likely to experience in space. Below that level, the manufacturers were not able to guarantee that the avionics would resume proper functioning.

- There were restrictions pertaining to general weather conditions for ferry flights, which were again dictated by the presence of the orbiter, rather than by the SCA. The SCA/orbiter combo had to avoid clouds and was never allowed to fly through rain, otherwise the orbiter’s delicate thermal protection tile covering would have suffered.

SHIFTING SHUTTLES

The Spaceflight News “Tomorrow Has Wings” article in June 1989 gave additional information on “shifting shuttles” with the SCA – and also mentioned that a second SCA was expected to enter NASA service the following year:

“A four-person flight crew occupies the flight deck during ferry flights; two pilots and two flight engineers. When transporting an orbiter coast-to-coast back to Kennedy Space Center from Edwards Air Force Base, California, after a space mission, the SCA normally routes through Kelly Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas, to refuel.

However, there are a number of contingency stopping points the SCA can land at along the route should weather conditions dictate; primarily Sheppard AFB in North Texas and McDill AFB in Florida.

In addition, there are a number of emergency landing sites en route, for use if a major difficulty arises. In this category would fall: a mechanical problem with the SCA or the orbiter; the development of local wind shear conditions; or an accident involving another aircraft on the runway at the prime destination, rendering the runway unusable.

For such extreme situations, Bergstrom AFB – about 30 miles from Kelly – would be used instead of Kelly itself, and Orlando International Airport would be used if the SCA had got close to Kennedy Space Center, but was for some reason unable to land there directly.

Although the SCA is based at Edwards, California, most of the pilots responsible for flying N905NA are based at Ellington Field, near Houston. Aside from Project Pilot Ace Beale, they are: David Finney, Joe Algranti, Kenneth Haugen, A.R. Roy, and – over at Edwards – Gordon Fullerton and Tom McMurtry.

So vital is the SCA to the shuttle program, that the Presidential Commission which investigated the Challenger accident and made recommendations pertaining to the future conduct of the program, advised that a second Boeing 747 be converted to SCA standard as soon as possible, thereby ending reliance on a critical single link.

NASA duly acquired another 747, and on Monday, April 17, 1989, ‘911’ was delivered to Boeing’s Wichita, Kansas, facility for conversion. An ex-Japan Air Lines airplane, this is a 100-series 747 like ‘905.’ It was inspected, selected and purchased on behalf of NASA by Boeing, who had been instructed to look out for a candidate for the role of second SCA.

N911NA is due to enter NASA service in the fall of 1990, and will be virtually identical to her sister ship. The period of reliance on that critical single link will then have passed, further strengthening the shuttle program as it faces the challenges of a new decade.”

(Nigel Macknight, “Jumbo!”, Spaceflight News, June 1989 – edited)

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-091514a-nasa911-sca-move-display.html

Ares67 · « **Reply #354 on:** 10/18/2014 10:07 pm »

“The big bird deserves its place in history.”

- John W. Young, “Forever Young,” University Press of Florida, 2012

L2 high-res photos of Enterprise

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=9358.0

Ares67 · « **Reply #355 on:** 10/18/2014 10:09 pm »

“This is the end, beautiful friend…”

- Jim Morrison, “The End,” 1967

“In the midnight hour babe more, more, more
With a rebel yell more, more, more”

- Billy Idol, “Rebel Yell,” 1983

Indeed, this is not really the end, beautiful friend…

I’ll be back, probably during early 2015, with more, more, more in

Challenger STS-8 – In the Dark of the Night

So, I’m getting ready for another winter with STS-8 on my mind – like I did back in December 1985, while on vacation in the Bavarian/Austrian border region, proudly wearing new patches…

“We’ll meet again… Some sunny day”

(Yes, the Johnny Cash version…)

- Oliver, aka Ares67

Hog · « **Reply #356 on:** 10/19/2014 06:56 pm »

Thanks Ares for all your efforts here. An excellent compilation of OV-101's history.

I really wish that SLC-6/STS would have become a reality.

Overflow · « **Reply #357 on:** 11/04/2014 01:04 am »

Just posting to make sure I can easily find it in a few days when I have time to sit down and read this. Man... This is gonna be good.

Ares67 · « **Reply #358 on:** 05/15/2015 10:40 pm »

Just FYI - I'm in the final stages of finishing up the STS-8 report; expect to see it here at NSF during the second half of May 2015...

catdlr · « **Reply #359 on:** 01/14/2021 05:14 am »

bump.....

SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM ORBITER 101 / ENTERPRISE ROLLOUT CEREMONY SEPTEMBER 17-18, 1976 59044

PeriscopeFilm
2020-01-13

Quote

This color film from Rockwell shows the rollout of the first Space Shuttle, the Enterprise. This was filmed in September 1976.

Giant steel doors open (:13). Palmdale, CA, space shuttle beginning preparations for a rollout for all to see on September 17, 1976 (:32). A large crowd has gathered for the rollout (:41). Dr. Fletcher speaks (:48). Orbiter 101 christened the "Enterprise" (:57). The orbiter is rolled out (1:18). Space Shuttle Enterprise (1:45). People watch as the Enterprise is shown (2:00). Senator Barry Goldwater speaks as the Enterprise is shown up close (2:32). The shuttle Enterprise as seen from a distance (2:53). Underneath the shuttle (3:27). People watch the shuttle being wheeled out (3:42). Willard F. Rockwell Jr., head of the family's aerospace companies speaks (3:56). Aerial footage of Enterprise as seen from the sky (5:04). People walk near the shuttle on September 18, 1976 (5:17).