#ov-101

Front view of the Space Shuttle Enterprise on top of the 747 SCA (N905NA) at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. Workers are preparing the crafts for the first captive-active flight and the ninth flight of the Approach and Landing Tests.

Date: May 15, 1977

The Space Shuttle Enterprise in boiler plate mode to check and refine the structures at the Launch Complex 39A.

Date: May 12, 1980.

Hi there, I do junk removal and hauling and I’ve got some NASA related photos from a storage unit! Got interest in some pictures of challenger being transported and some crew photos?

Wow, those are awesome! Very nice find and of course I do!

I always love the overland transport of the Shuttles. I can't say I remember seeing these before.

BTW the bottom middle photo of the set of 12 is of Enterprise. The rest are of Atlantis (OV-104), since she is the only one of her sisters to be transported from the factory without a tail cone. That's if they are of a shuttle being transported from Palmdale to Edwards for its delivery to NASA.

The two crew photos are of STS-41-G and STS-51-L.

NASA ID: STS041G-02-032

STS-41-G is the first space flight with women astronauts with Sally K. Ride, and Kathryn D. Sullivan.

Contrary to some publications (and possibly to popular belief), Space Shuttle Enterprise was always intended to become an operational Shuttle.

She was originally to be named Constitution, to commemorate the bicentennial, with her rollout ceremony taking place on anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution - September 17, 1976. But a write-in campaign by the fans of the sci-fi series Star Trek convinced President Gerald Ford to change her name to Enterprise.

Screen shot from Star Trek the Motion Picture (1979) of the rec deck of USS Enterprise NCC-1701 with a photo of the Space Shuttle Enterprise during the ALT flights.

After the conclusion of the Approach and Land Tests (ALT), and the Mated Vertical Ground Vibration Tests (MVGVT) in 1978, she was to be flown back to Rockwell International's facility in Palmdale, California for the rest of her equipment to be installed and made an operational shuttle. She was delivered back to NASA in December 1980, with her first scheduled mission being STS-17 on July 16, 1981. This mission was to deploy a Intelsat V satellite and retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility.

In order to make Enterprise space-worthy, the following list of equipment and systems were still to be installed (not complete):

Thermal protection system (aka the tiles)

Exotic carbon-carbon nose-cap and wing leading edges

Equipment for Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods

Internal propellent lines or tanks

Equipment to support and use the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME)

Tanks for Cryogenic Dewars

Orbiter fuel cells

Structural supports or mounting points for payloads

Payload bay doors lacked hydraulic actuators or radiators

Unified S-Band

Rendezvous Radar and KU-Band

Shuttle Remote Manipulator system (aka Canadarm)

Airlock

Life support equipment

Mid-deck lockers for mission equipment

Crew galley

Shower

Other crew support items

Navigation, Guidance and propulsion controls

Star Tracker

Heads-up display

Panels, Switches and indicators for the External Tank (ET) and Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) systems

However, the shuttle design was changed several times during and after her construction, which made it more expensive to retrofit her for space operations. Mostly due to design revisions and materials. The mid-fuselage and wings were significantly strengthened in order to carry heavier payloads to orbit. In several areas of her structure, aluminum castings were used - these would have to be replaced with titanium for weight saving. The forward reaction control system tank support was found to be inadequate during the testing of STA-099 and would need to be changed. The same was found for the vertical stabilizer. The goal was to keep the empty weight close to 150,000 pounds for mission flexibility. Had she been retrofitted, it is likely she would have been closer to Columbia in weight at 158,289 pounds. For comparison, Endeavour weighed 151,205 when she rolled out of the factory in 1991. The added weight would have limited her usefulness in a similar fashion to Columbia. Due to this, she would have been limited to low earth orbit (LEO) science base or spacelab missions - where the altitude isn't an issue - and never used for space station missions.

Instead, the Static Test Article 099 (STA-099), a shell built to test the loads the Orbiter would experience during launch and re-entry, was converted into the second operational orbiter, Challenger. From the experience gained from the construction of Enterprise and Colombia, her frame was already built to a lighter and stronger revised design. In early 1979, STA-099, now named Challenger, was given the designation OV-101M before it was switched to OV-099. It took roughly 3 years to disassemble major components for shipment back to the subcontractors, then reassemble them back together, but it has been estimated this saved NASA about $100 million. To continue the point in the last paragraph, Challenger weighed 155,400 pounds when she was completed.

NASA ID: DF-ST-83-02528

During the early design phase of the shuttle, NASA envisioned a fleet of 5 operational orbiters. After Challenger replaced Enterprise as the second space-rated shuttle, and to minimize the delay in the construction of the shuttle fleet, the 1978-1979 plan was to wait until work was finished on Atlantis (OV-104), then send Enterprise back to Rockwell for retrofitting. However, President Jimmy Carter and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would only approve a budget for 4 orbiters, nixing Enterprise.

source

Afterwards, NASA revisited plans to finish Enterprise several times. The most well known attempt was after the loss of Challenger. NASA ultimately chose to use structural spares built during Discovery and Atlantis to build Endeavour. In 1996, NASA again looked at Enterprise for possible conversion into an automated shuttle (with no crew), and even considered turning her into a wingless space station. However, funding was never granted for either of these potential concepts.

“Soft Landing,” a four-page comic by Dan O’Bannon and Thomas Warkentin, from Heavy Metal magazine, September 1979: link

There were rumors of completing Enterprise as a regular shuttle after the loss of Columbia, because the structural spares designed to replace the ones used for Endeavour were cancelled before they were completed and were scrapped. Enterprise would be the only option left at this point. But NASA instead moved on to Project Constellation, and retired the entire Shuttle Program.

source

"Space Shuttle Enterprise is rolled into a protective hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Enterprise, a prototype built to test aspects of the space shuttle design, will be displayed at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York."

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.

Date: May 12, 2012