Check out these surface grinding aluminum photos:
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Space Shuttle Enterprise (port complete view)
Image by Chris Devers
See more pictures of this, and the Wikipedia post.
Specifics, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Space Shuttle Enterprise:
Manufacturer:
Rockwell International Corporation
Nation of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
General: 57 ft. tall x 122 ft. extended x 78 ft. wing span, 150,000 lb.
(1737.36 x 3718.57 x 2377.44cm, 68039.6kg)
Supplies:
Aluminum airframe and physique with some fiberglass functions payload bay doors are graphite epoxy composite thermal tiles are simulated (polyurethane foam) except for test samples of actual tiles and thermal blankets.
The 1st Space Shuttle orbiter, "Enterprise," is a full-scale test car utilized for flights in the atmosphere and tests on the ground it is not equipped for spaceflight. Despite the fact that the airframe and flight handle elements are like those of the Shuttles flown in space, this vehicle has no propulsion method and only simulated thermal tiles since these attributes have been not needed for atmospheric and ground tests. "Enterprise" was rolled out at Rockwell International’s assembly facility in Palmdale, California, in 1976. In 1977, it entered service for a nine-month-extended approach-and-landing test flight plan. Thereafter it was utilised for vibration tests and fit checks at NASA centers, and it also appeared in the 1983 Paris Air Show and the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, NASA transferred "Enterprise" to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.
Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• • •
Quoting from Wikipedia | Space Shuttle Enterprise:
The Space Shuttle Enterprise (NASA Orbiter Automobile Designation: OV-101) was the 1st Space Shuttle orbiter. It was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle system to execute test flights in the atmosphere. It was constructed without having engines or a functional heat shield, and was consequently not capable of spaceflight.
Originally, Enterprise had been intended to be refitted for orbital flight, which would have produced it the second space shuttle to fly after Columbia. Nevertheless, during the building of Columbia, information of the final design changed, especially with regard to the weight of the fuselage and wings. Refitting Enterprise for spaceflight would have involved dismantling the orbiter and returning the sections to subcontractors across the nation. As this was an expensive proposition, it was determined to be significantly less pricey to construct Challenger about a physique frame (STA-099) that had been developed as a test post. Similarly, Enterprise was regarded for refit to replace Challenger soon after the latter was destroyed, but Endeavour was built from structural spares as an alternative.
Service
Construction began on the 1st orbiter on June four, 1974. Designated OV-101, it was initially planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. A create-in campaign by Trekkies to President Gerald Ford asked that the orbiter be named following the Starship Enterprise, featured on the tv show Star Trek. Although Ford did not mention the campaign, the president—who for the duration of World War II had served on the aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) that served with USS Enterprise (CV-six)—said that he was "partial to the name" and overrode NASA officials.
The design and style of OV-101 was not the identical as that planned for OV-102, the initial flight model the tail was constructed differently, and it did not have the interfaces to mount OMS pods. A huge quantity of subsystems—ranging from main engines to radar equipment—were not installed on this car, but the capacity to add them in the future was retained. As an alternative of a thermal protection system, its surface was mainly fiberglass.
In mid-1976, the orbiter was employed for ground vibration tests, allowing engineers to examine data from an actual flight car with theoretical models.
On September 17, 1976, Enterprise was rolled out of Rockwell’s plant at Palmdale, California. In recognition of its fictional namesake, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the principal cast of the original series of Star Trek had been on hand at the dedication ceremony.
Strategy and landing tests (ALT)
Major report: Strategy and Landing Tests
On January 31, 1977, it was taken by road to Dryden Flight Investigation Center at Edwards Air Force Base, to begin operational testing.
Although at NASA Dryden, Enterprise was used by NASA for a variety of ground and flight tests intended to validate elements of the shuttle plan. The initial nine-month testing period was referred to by the acronym ALT, for "Approach and Landing Test". These tests integrated 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. Ground tests of all orbiter subsystems had been carried out to confirm functionality prior to atmospheric flight.
The mated Enterprise/SCA combination was then subjected to five test flights with Enterprise unmanned and unactivated. The goal of these test flights was to measure the flight characteristics of the mated mixture. These tests were followed with three test flights with Enterprise manned to test the shuttle flight handle systems.
Enterprise underwent 5 free of charge flights where the craft separated from the SCA and was landed below astronaut manage. These tests verified the flight characteristics of the orbiter design and style and were carried out below many aerodynamic and weight configurations. On the fifth and final glider flight, pilot-induced oscillation difficulties have been revealed, which had to be addressed just before the very first orbital launch occurred.
On August 12, 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise flew on its own for the 1st time.
Preparation for STS-1
Following the ALT plan, Enterprise was ferried among several NASA facilities to configure the craft for vibration testing. In June 1979, it was mated with an external tank and strong rocket boosters (known as a boilerplate configuration) and tested in a launch configuration at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A.
Retirement
With the completion of critical testing, Enterprise was partially disassembled to permit certain components to be reused in other shuttles, then underwent an international tour going to France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. states of California, Alabama, and Louisiana (throughout the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition). It was also utilised to match-check the in no way-utilised shuttle launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, California. Finally, on November 18, 1985, Enterprise was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became house of the Smithsonian Institution.
Post-Challenger
Soon after the Challenger disaster, NASA deemed using Enterprise as a replacement. However refitting the shuttle with all of the needed equipment needed for it to be utilized in space was regarded, but rather it was decided to use spares constructed at the same time as Discovery and Atlantis to develop Endeavour.
Post-Columbia
In 2003, right after the breakup of Columbia for the duration of re-entry, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board carried out tests at Southwest Investigation Institute, which utilized an air gun to shoot foam blocks of equivalent size, mass and speed to that which struck Columbia at a test structure which mechanically replicated the orbiter wing major edge. They removed a fiberglass panel from Enterprise’s wing to perform evaluation of the material and attached it to the test structure, then shot a foam block at it. Although the panel was not broken as a outcome of the test, the influence was adequate to permanently deform a seal. As the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panel on Columbia was 2.five occasions weaker, this recommended that the RCC major edge would have been shattered. Added tests on the fiberglass were canceled in order not to risk damaging the test apparatus, and a panel from Discovery was tested to determine the effects of the foam on a similarly-aged RCC leading edge. On July 7, 2003, a foam effect test designed a hole 41 cm by 42.five cm (16.1 inches by 16.7 inches) in the protective RCC panel. The tests clearly demonstrated that a foam effect of the kind Columbia sustained could seriously breach the protective RCC panels on the wing leading edge.
The board determined that the probable lead to of the accident was that the foam influence caused a breach of a reinforced carbon-carbon panel along the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing, permitting hot gases generated for the duration of re-entry to enter the wing and lead to structural collapse. This brought on Columbia to spin out of handle, breaking up with the loss of the entire crew.
Museum exhibit
Enterprise was stored at the Smithsonian’s hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport ahead of it was restored and moved to the newly constructed Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum‘s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, where it has been the centerpiece of the space collection. On April 12, 2011, NASA announced that Space Shuttle Discovery, the most traveled orbiter in the fleet, will be added to the collection once the Shuttle fleet is retired. When that happens, Enterprise will be moved to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City, to a newly constructed hangar adjacent to the museum. In preparation for the anticipated relocation, engineers evaluated the automobile in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft after once more.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Space Shuttle Enterprise (interior of nose landing gear bay)
Image by Chris Devers
See a lot more images of this, and the Wikipedia article.
Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Space Shuttle Enterprise:
Manufacturer:
Rockwell International Corporation
Country of Origin:
United States of America
Dimensions:
Overall: 57 ft. tall x 122 ft. extended x 78 ft. wing span, 150,000 lb.
(1737.36 x 3718.57 x 2377.44cm, 68039.6kg)
Components:
Aluminum airframe and body with some fiberglass characteristics payload bay doors are graphite epoxy composite thermal tiles are simulated (polyurethane foam) except for test samples of actual tiles and thermal blankets.
The initial Space Shuttle orbiter, "Enterprise," is a complete-scale test automobile utilised for flights in the atmosphere and tests on the ground it is not equipped for spaceflight. Despite the fact that the airframe and flight manage components are like those of the Shuttles flown in space, this car has no propulsion method and only simulated thermal tiles since these characteristics were not needed for atmospheric and ground tests. "Enterprise" was rolled out at Rockwell International’s assembly facility in Palmdale, California, in 1976. In 1977, it entered service for a nine-month-long approach-and-landing test flight program. Thereafter it was employed for vibration tests and match checks at NASA centers, and it also appeared in the 1983 Paris Air Show and the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, NASA transferred "Enterprise" to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.
Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• • •
Quoting from Wikipedia | Space Shuttle Enterprise:
The Space Shuttle Enterprise (NASA Orbiter Car Designation: OV-101) was the very first Space Shuttle orbiter. It was built for NASA as portion of the Space Shuttle program to carry out test flights in the atmosphere. It was constructed without having engines or a functional heat shield, and was as a result not capable of spaceflight.
Originally, Enterprise had been intended to be refitted for orbital flight, which would have produced it the second space shuttle to fly right after Columbia. Nonetheless, for the duration of the construction of Columbia, information of the final style changed, especially with regard to the weight of the fuselage and wings. Refitting Enterprise for spaceflight would have involved dismantling the orbiter and returning the sections to subcontractors across the nation. As this was an expensive proposition, it was determined to be less costly to develop Challenger around a body frame (STA-099) that had been produced as a test report. Similarly, Enterprise was regarded as for refit to replace Challenger following the latter was destroyed, but Endeavour was constructed from structural spares rather.
Service
Building began on the 1st orbiter on June four, 1974. Designated OV-101, it was initially planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. A write-in campaign by Trekkies to President Gerald Ford asked that the orbiter be named following the Starship Enterprise, featured on the tv show Star Trek. Even though Ford did not mention the campaign, the president—who during Planet War II had served on the aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) that served with USS Enterprise (CV-six)—said that he was "partial to the name" and overrode NASA officials.
The design of OV-101 was not the exact 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. A huge number of subsystems—ranging from principal engines to radar equipment—were not installed on this vehicle, but the capacity to add them in the future was retained. As an alternative of a thermal protection technique, its surface was mainly fiberglass.
In mid-1976, the orbiter was utilized for ground vibration tests, permitting engineers to compare data from an actual flight car with theoretical models.
On September 17, 1976, Enterprise was rolled out of Rockwell’s plant at Palmdale, California. In recognition of its fictional namesake, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the principal cast of the original series of Star Trek had been on hand at the dedication ceremony.
Approach and landing tests (ALT)
Main write-up: Method and Landing Tests
On January 31, 1977, it was taken by road to Dryden Flight Investigation Center at Edwards Air Force Base, to begin operational testing.
Although at NASA Dryden, Enterprise was utilised by NASA for a selection of ground and flight tests intended to validate elements of the shuttle program. The initial nine-month testing period was referred to by the acronym ALT, for "Approach and Landing Test". These tests integrated a maiden "flight" on February 18, 1977 atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to measure structural loads and ground handling and braking traits of the mated program. Ground tests of all orbiter subsystems had been carried out to confirm functionality prior to atmospheric flight.
The mated Enterprise/SCA combination was then subjected to five test flights with Enterprise unmanned and unactivated. The objective of these test flights was to measure the flight traits of the mated mixture. These tests had been followed with 3 test flights with Enterprise manned to test the shuttle flight handle systems.
Enterprise underwent 5 free flights where the craft separated from the SCA and was landed beneath astronaut handle. These tests verified the flight traits of the orbiter design and have been carried out under numerous aerodynamic and weight configurations. On the fifth and final glider flight, pilot-induced oscillation problems have been revealed, which had to be addressed ahead of the 1st orbital launch occurred.
On August 12, 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise flew on its own for the initial time.
Preparation for STS-1
Following the ALT plan, Enterprise was ferried among many NASA facilities to configure the craft for vibration testing. In June 1979, it was mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters (identified as a boilerplate configuration) and tested in a launch configuration at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A.
Retirement
With the completion of crucial testing, Enterprise was partially disassembled to enable certain components to be reused in other shuttles, then underwent an international tour going to France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. states of California, Alabama, and Louisiana (for the duration of the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition). It was also utilized to match-check the by no means-utilized shuttle launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, California. Lastly, on November 18, 1985, Enterprise was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became home of the Smithsonian Institution.
Post-Challenger
Right after the Challenger disaster, NASA regarded as using Enterprise as a replacement. However refitting the shuttle with all of the required gear required for it to be employed in space was regarded as, but instead it was decided to use spares constructed at the identical time as Discovery and Atlantis to construct Endeavour.
Post-Columbia
In 2003, following the breakup of Columbia in the course of re-entry, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board performed tests at Southwest Investigation Institute, which used an air gun to shoot foam blocks of equivalent size, mass and speed to that which struck Columbia at a test structure which mechanically replicated the orbiter wing top edge. They removed a fiberglass panel from Enterprise’s wing to execute analysis of the material and attached it to the test structure, then shot a foam block at it. Although the panel was not broken as a result of the test, the effect was adequate to permanently deform a seal. As the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panel on Columbia was two.5 times weaker, this suggested that the RCC top edge would have been shattered. Additional tests on the fiberglass had been canceled in order not to danger damaging the test apparatus, and a panel from Discovery was tested to figure out the effects of the foam on a similarly-aged RCC top edge. On July 7, 2003, a foam influence test produced a hole 41 cm by 42.five cm (16.1 inches by 16.7 inches) in the protective RCC panel. The tests clearly demonstrated that a foam effect of the kind Columbia sustained could seriously breach the protective RCC panels on the wing leading edge.
The board determined that the probable lead to of the accident was that the foam effect caused a breach of a reinforced carbon-carbon panel along the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing, allowing hot gases generated in the course of re-entry to enter the wing and lead to structural collapse. This caused Columbia to spin out of manage, breaking up with the loss of the complete crew.
Museum exhibit
Enterprise was stored at the Smithsonian’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. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, exactly where it has been the centerpiece of the space collection. On April 12, 2011, NASA announced that Space Shuttle Discovery, the most traveled orbiter in the fleet, will be added to the collection when the Shuttle fleet is retired. When that takes place, Enterprise will be moved to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City, to a newly constructed hangar adjacent to the museum. In preparation for the anticipated relocation, engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was secure to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft as soon as again.
