The Space Shuttle Orbiter, meanwhile, would arc up and away from the Booster. It would then taxi or be towed to a hangar for minimal refurbishment and preparation for its next launch. Because it would return to its launch site, NASA dubbed it the "Flyback" Booster. It would then turn around, reenter the dense part of Earth's atmosphere, deploy air-breathing engines, and fly under power to a runway at its launch site. At the edge of space, its propellants depleted, the Booster would release the Orbiter. The Booster's rocket motors would ignite on the launch pad, drawing liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen propellants from integral internal tanks. The typical fully reusable Shuttle design in play in the first half of 1971 included a large Booster vehicle and a smaller Orbiter, each of which would carry a crew. NASA's ambition in 1971 was to build a fully reusable Space Shuttle which it could operate much as an airline operates its airplanes. This caused Columbia to spin out of control, breaking up with the loss of all crew.Įnterprise was stored at the Smithsonian Institution's hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport before it was restored and moved to the newly-built Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F.Image credit: NASA/North American Rockwell/General Dynamics. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined that this impact caused a breach of a Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panel along the leading edge of Columbia's left wing, allowing super-heated gases generated during re-entry to enter the wing and cause structural collapse. The tests clearly demonstrated that a foam impact of the type Columbia sustained could seriously breach the protective RCC panels on the wing leading edge. It created a hole 41 cm by 42.5 cm (16.1 inches by 16.7 inches) in the protective RCC panel. On Ja second foam impact test was performed by Southwest Research Institute, which used a foam block of similar size, mass and speed to that which struck Columbia. Additional tests on the fiberglass were canceled in order not to risk damaging the test apparatus, and a panel from Discovery was tested to know the effects of the foam on a similarly-aged RCC leading edge. As the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panel on Columbia was 2.5 times weaker, this suggested that the RCC leading edge would have been shattered. While the panel was not broken as a result of the test, the impact was enough to permanently deform a seal. The test involved firing a piece of foam at high velocity at the panel. In 2003, after the breakup of Columbia during re-entry, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board removed a fiberglass panel from Enterprise's wing to perform analysis of the material. Refitting Enterprise with all of the necessary equipment needed for it to be used in space was considered, but instead it was decided to use spares from the fabrication of Discovery and Atlantis to build Endeavour. Finally, on November 18, 1985, Enterprise was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became property of the Smithsonian Institution.<Īfter the Challenger disaster, NASA had a choice of which shuttle to use as a replacement. It was also used to fit-check the never-used shuttle launch pad, Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg AFB, California. states of California, Alabama, and Louisiana (during World Expo 84). With the completion of critical testing, Enterprise was partially disassembled to allow certain components to be reused in other shuttles, then underwent an international tour visiting France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S.
#SPACE SHUTTLE ENTERPRISE VAFB SERIES#
In recognition of its fictional namesake, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the cast of the original series of Star Trek were on hand at the dedication ceremony. On September 17, 1976, Enterprise was rolled out of Rockwell International's plant at Palmdale, California]]. Instead of a Thermal Protection System, its surface was primarily fiberglass.ĭuring summer 1976, the orbiter was used for ground vibration tests, allowing engineers to compare data from an actual flight vehicle with theoretical models. A large number of subsystems - ranging from main engines to radar equipment - were not installed on this vehicle, but the capacity to add them in the future was retained. The design of OV-101 was not the same as that planned for OV-102, the first flight model the tail was constructed differently, and it did not have the interfaces to mount OMS pods. However, a write-in campaign caused it to be renamed after the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)featured on the television show Star Trek: The Original Series Designated OV-101, it was originally planned to be named Constitution. Construction began on the first orbiter on June 4, 1974.
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