Remembering Enterprise: The Test Shuttle That Never Flew to Space

Enterprise mounted to the top of a modified Boeing 747 during OV-101 Flight 7 on October 12, 1977. The Shuttle’s Tail Cone was removed for this mission, exposing its mock engines.

Enterprise mounted to the highest of a modified Boeing 747 throughout OV-101 Flight 7 on October 12, 1977. The Shuttle’s Tail Cone was eliminated for this mission, exposing its mock engines.
Photo: NASA

Prior to the inaugural launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981, NASA carried out a sequence of efficiency checks with a prototype often called Enterprise. Named for the fictional Star Trek vessel, Enterprise offered our first glimpse of what a future spaceship would possibly truly appear to be.

When I used to be a child, I beloved to play with my toy Enterprise Shuttle, which rested comfortably on high of its corresponding toy 747 jet airliner. NASA’s Space Shuttle had not but launched to house (sure, I’m courting myself right here), but my creativeness was already hovering, as I envisioned the black-and-white spaceplane hovering by way of the celestial void.

As an grownup, I nonetheless maintain a gentle spot for Enterprise. The intrepid prototype set the stage for NASA’s a 4.5-million-pound house truck, regardless of it by no means reaching orbit.

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https://gizmodo.com/space-shuttle-enterprise-nasa-history-1849666177