Enterprise, the first Space Shuttle Orbiter, was to be named Constitution, in honor of the U.S. Constitution's Bicentennial. However viewers of the popular TV show Star Trek started a write-in campaign urging the White House to rename the vehicle Enterprise. Designated, OV-101, the vehicle rolled out of Rockwell's Air Force Plant 42, Site 1 Palmdale California assemble facility on Sept. 17, 1976. On Jan. 31, 1977, it was transported 36 miles overland from Rockwell's assembly facility to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edward's Air Force Base for the approach and landing testing program.
The ALT program included both ground and flight tests. Ground tests included taxi tests of the 747 shuttle carrier with Enterprise mated on top SCA to determine structural loads. NASA also wanted to check how the Shuttle and the 747 transport plane flew together at flight takeoff speed. The taxi tests also validated 747 steering and braking with the orbiter attached. A ground test of orbiter systems followed the unmanned captive tests. All orbiter systems were activated as they would be in flight. This was the final preparation for the manned captive flight phase. This continued for nine months, from February through November 1977 at Dryden Flight Facility. These tests showed the craft could fly in the atmosphere and land like a plane without power.
Two NASA astronaut crews- Fred Haise, Gorkon Fullerton; Joe Engle and Dick Truly all took turns at Edwards Air Force Base for the approach and landing testing program. Before they could test the ship it was mounted atop the (Shuttle Carriers of America) SCA and the systems were tested while the orbiter was mated. Then after those tests were through Enterprise was tested in three manned captive flights. During these three manned captive test flights the astronauts would test all orbiter flight controls and systems. For all captive flights and the first three free flights, the orbiter was outfitted with a tall cone covering the aft section to reduce drag and turbulence. The final two free flights were without the tail cone, and the three main engines and two orbital maneuvering system engines were exposed aerodynamically.
Over the years Enterprise was exposed to pretty much the same testing as listed above. The orbiter made a few appearances in the 80's. They were: in 1983 it appeared at the Paris, France, air show as well as Germany, Italy, England and Canada, after that it returned to Dryden. In 1984, it was sent from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to Mobile, Ala. From there it was taken to New Orleans, La., for the World's Fair. On Nov. 18, 1985, Enterprise was sent from KSC to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute.
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