As it was only used for atmospheric testing, Enterprise featured a large nose probe mounted on its nose cap, common on test aircraft because the location provides the most accurate readings for the test instruments, being mounted out in front of the disturbed airflow. Enterprise was equipped with Lockheed-manufactured zero-zero ejection seats like those its sister carried on its first four missions. ==Construction milestones== ==Service== Construction began on Enterprise on June 4, 1974.
Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test flights after being launched from a modified Boeing 747.
Designated OV-101, it was originally planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976.
Although Ford did not publicly mention the campaign, the president said that he was "partial to the name" Enterprise, and directed NASA officials to change the name. In mid-1976 the orbiter was used for ground vibration tests, allowing engineers to compare data from an actual flight vehicle with theoretical models. On September 17, 1976, Enterprise was rolled out of Rockwell's plant at Palmdale, California.
These tests included a maiden "flight" on February 18, 1977, atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to measure structural loads and ground handling and braking characteristics of the mated system.
These tests were followed with three test flights with Enterprise crewed to test the shuttle flight control systems. On August 12, 1977, Enterprise flew on its own for the first time.
On the fifth and final glider flight, pilot-induced oscillation problems were revealed, which had to be addressed before the first orbital launch occurred. ===Mated Vertical Ground Vibration Test (MGVT)=== Following the conclusion of the ALT test flight program, on March 13, 1978, Enterprise was flown once again, but this time halfway across the country to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Alabama for the Mated Vertical Ground Vibration Testing (MGVT).
As a consequence, NASA made the decision to convert an incomplete Structural Test Article, numbered STA-099, which had been built to undergo a variety of stress tests, into a fully flight-worthy orbiter, which became . ===Preparation for STS-1=== Following the MGVT program and with the decision to not use Enterprise for orbital missions, it was ferried to Kennedy Space Center on April 10, 1979.
By June 1979, it was again mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters (known as a boilerplate configuration) and tested in a launch configuration at KSC Launch Complex 39A for a series of fit checks of the facilities there. With the completion of critical testing, was returned to Rockwell's plant in Palmdale in October 1987 and was partially disassembled to allow certain components to be reused in other shuttles.
Under this arrangement, Enterprise would be launched on its maiden spaceflight in July 1981 to launch a communications satellite and retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility, then planned for a 1980 release on the first operational orbiter, Columbia.
Under this arrangement, Enterprise would be launched on its maiden spaceflight in July 1981 to launch a communications satellite and retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility, then planned for a 1980 release on the first operational orbiter, Columbia.
After this period, Enterprise was returned to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility in September 1981.
In 1983 and 1984, Enterprise underwent an international tour visiting France, West Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
In 1983 and 1984, Enterprise underwent an international tour visiting France, West Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Enterprise also visited California, Alabama, and Louisiana (while visiting the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition).
On November 18, 1985, Enterprise was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became property of the Smithsonian Institution and was stored in the National Air and Space Museum's hangar at Dulles International Airport. ===Post-Challenger=== After the Challenger disaster, NASA considered using Enterprise as a replacement.
This caused Columbia to tumble out of control, breaking up with the loss of the entire crew. ===Museum exhibit=== ====Washington, D.C.==== From 1985 to 2003, Enterprise was stored at the Smithsonian's hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport before it was restored and moved to the Smithsonian's newly built National Air and Space Museum Steven F.
By June 1979, it was again mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters (known as a boilerplate configuration) and tested in a launch configuration at KSC Launch Complex 39A for a series of fit checks of the facilities there. With the completion of critical testing, was returned to Rockwell's plant in Palmdale in October 1987 and was partially disassembled to allow certain components to be reused in other shuttles.
Similarly, Enterprise was considered for refit to replace Challenger after the latter was destroyed, but was built from structural spares instead. Enterprise was restored and placed on display in 2003 at the Smithsonian's new Steven F.
While the leading edge was not broken as a result of the test, which took place on May 29, 2003, the impact was enough to permanently deform a seal and leave a thin gap long.
This caused Columbia to tumble out of control, breaking up with the loss of the entire crew. ===Museum exhibit=== ====Washington, D.C.==== From 1985 to 2003, Enterprise was stored at the Smithsonian's hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport before it was restored and moved to the Smithsonian's newly built National Air and Space Museum Steven F.
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.
On April 12, 2011, NASA announced that , the most traveled orbiter in the fleet, would replace Enterprise in the Smithsonian's collection once the Shuttle fleet was retired, with ownership of Enterprise transferred to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.
Udvar-Hazy Center before Enterprise was made ready for its flight to New York. ====New York==== On December 12, 2011, ownership of Enterprise was officially transferred to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.
Following the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet, replaced Enterprise at the Udvar-Hazy Center, and Enterprise was transferred to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City, where it has been on display since July 2012. ==Differences between Enterprise and future shuttles== The design of Enterprise was not the same as that planned for , the first flight model; the aft fuselage was constructed differently, and it did not have the interfaces to mount OMS pods.
On April 17, 2012, Discovery was transported by Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to Dulles from Kennedy Space Center, where it made several passes over the Washington D.C.
At approximately 13:40 UTC 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 15:23 UTC, 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.
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 vertical stabilizer had been fully repaired, and construction work on the structure for a new pavilion was under way.
The pavilion and exhibit reopened on July 10, 2013. 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.
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