"It shows you the complexity of guiding the Saturn V rockets to the moon," he said. Visitors will also find a form-fitting centrifuge seat made especially for Mercury astronaut John Glenn, a full-scale engineering prototype of the Mars Pathfinder Lander and a model of the Sojourner Rover.Ĭurator Ceruzzi particularly likes the Apollo-era artifacts, including an instrument unit from a Saturn V rocket originally intended for the Apollo 19 mission that never flew. It worked, and the crew of the hit show got a first hand look at the orbiter in California (+ View Photo: Browse | High Resolution ).Įnterprise is far from the only attraction in the new hangar, which boasts a total of 113 large space artifacts, including two Mercury capsules, an Apollo Command Module, an array of cruise missiles, satellites and space telescopes, and a Space Shuttle Main Engine (+ View Photo: Browse | High Resolution ).
#Space shuttle enterprise flown items tv
It was originally to be named Constitution, but viewers of the popular TV show "Star Trek" started a write-in campaign urging the White House to select the name Enterprise. Click for high resolution photo.Įnterprise is most definitely a unique machine, right down to the origin of its name. Image left: This 1960s era hydraulic-powered "android" was used to test NASA spacesuits without subjecting astronauts to overheating or injury. The orbiter was also sent to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it was rolled out to the launch pad to act as a "stand-in" as NASA prepared for the first shuttle launch.
#Space shuttle enterprise flown items series
Astronaut Gordon Fullerton, who piloted the Enterprise to its first landing alongside Apollo 13 veteran Fred Haise, rekindled memories about the test flights during a dinner at the museum earlier this month ( + Read More).Īfter those tests, Enterprise was flown to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where it was mated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters and subjected to a series of vertical ground vibration tests. Its series of approach and landing tests in 1977 proved the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane, except without power - like a glider ( + View Photo). And he hopes they may someday replace Enterprise with a space-flown orbiter, once the Shuttle fleet is retired.Įnterprise never flew in space, but it was crucial to the Space Shuttle program. He also says the museum is considering putting cameras inside some of the exhibits to give visitors a virtual inside look. "It deservedly will be the center of attention." Visitors can't climb into the shuttle, but Ceruzzi says he eventually hopes the museum will have a shuttle cockpit displayed separately. very impressive," said museum curator Paul Ceruzzi.
Now, visitors will be able to get closer, exploring the Shuttle and a host of other space artifacts from the ground level or from two elevated overlooks. The orbiter's been at the museum since it opened last December, but the space hangar has been closed off while workers refurbished the Enterprise. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Click for high resolution photo.Įnterprise, the first Space Shuttle Orbiter, is the centerpiece of the new McDonnell Space Hangar at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. A Manned Maneuvering Unit, used for untethered spacewalks, hangs above the orbiter. Image above: Enterprise is the centerpiece of the new space hangar. If you've ever wanted to get up close and personal with a real Space Shuttle, you've got your chance.
0 kommentar(er)
