Shuttle Enterprise will fly again...

[TrekMD]

Thought I'd share the news about the shuttle Enterprise getting ready to fly again. It is not into space but it will fly...

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-031510a.html

 

[sbk1234]

Very bitter-sweet.

 

[SchwEnt]

I've been following this, and it seems strange.

I know NASA is gonna put the shuttles up for sale when they're retired.
Museums et. al. are putting in their bids, I guess.

I've read that Air&Space Museum seems to be getting Discovery (how did that happen already?)

But A&SM already HAS a shuttle...the Enterprise.

So they're gonna fly Enterprise outta there to make room for Discovery? Why would they have TWO shuttles anyway? And where are they flying Enterprise? Who will be getting it now? Or are they keeping it, just someplace else?

Many questions, I have.

 

[SpyOne]

I've read that Air&Space Museum seems to be getting Discovery (how did that happen already?)

But A&SM already HAS a shuttle...the Enterprise.

So they're gonna fly Enterprise outta there to make room for Discovery? Why would they have TWO shuttles anyway? And where are they flying Enterprise? Who will be getting it now? Or are they keeping it, just someplace else?

Many questions, I have.

I have a few answers.
The Smithsonian is moving the Enterprise to make room for Discovery. They don't know who will be getting it, or if they will be selling it/giving it away or just loaning it to another museum.

How did they get Discovery? I assume they got first choice, although I'm not sure I would have picked that one.
See, the shuttles were not identical. Columbia was the prototype, but a few changes were made for the "production model". Challenger, Atlantis, and Discovery had noses that were a slightly different shape, and weighed less so they could carry more payload. Columbia's airlock was internal, while the others had one that was external for missions that involved docking to a station.
Endeavour is the newest, built to replace Challenger. It had new controls, new systems, and was in many ways the coolest of the shuttles.
The Smithsonian probably picked Discovery because 3 of 4 missions involving the Hubble Space Telescope were done by Discovery: Discovery launched it, and the second and third visits to Hubble were done by Discovery.
Also, the very last shuttle mission on the schedule is for Discovery. Last one to be decommissioned is a bragging point (just ask fans of USS Wisconsin: last to be decommissioned twice).

 

[James Wright]

At least they aren't being scrapped, although they could've made Enterprise space capable and let her have one mission in space before retirement.
That's my opinion, which probably isn't saying much!

James

 

[Harvey]

Would have cost too much, especially for just one mission. There will be another space vehicle named Enterprise, no doubt.

Hopefully one of the shuttles comes to Seattle. It would be a great addition to the museum there.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

It would be great if it was sent to Downey, CA at the old Boeing plant where parts of it were built.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

There will be another space vehicle named Enterprise, no doubt.

Yeah, Virgin Galactic's VSS Enterprise.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Very interesting article. I actually didn't know Enterprise was originally meant to go into space. I always thought OV-101 was simply a "proof-of-concept" prototype/training vehicle and was never meant for spaceflight herself.

 

[Sector 7]

I remember sitting in front of the television for every broadcast of those test flights of shuttle Enterprise.

 

[T'Girl]

Hopefully one of the shuttles comes to Seattle. It would be a great addition to the museum there.

Hopefully they would build the Shuttle it's own wing at the Museum of Flight and not just stick it across the street in that old parking lot with President Kennedy's Air Force One and the Concorde.

Seattle should bid on Atlantis.

 

[Trek4Ever]

I remember reading an old Starlog article stating that the Enterprise was originally going to be called the Constitution. Being that it never flew in space but it was the first shuttle I find its status to be very bittersweet and I wonder if it will be as well remembered as the other shuttles in the public eye.

 

[Pavonis]

If Trek fans of the day hadn't been so insistent that the first shuttle be named Enterprise, we could have seen a real Constitution-class Enterprise orbiting the Earth.

Of course, if Enterprise had been Constitution, would Columbia have been renamed Enterprise? Or would another orbiter have been renamed (perhaps Challenger)?

 

[Sector 7]

In honor of OV-101, Enterprise and remembered friends:

 

[Harvey]

Hopefully one of the shuttles comes to Seattle. It would be a great addition to the museum there.

Hopefully they would build the Shuttle it's own wing at the Museum of Flight and not just stick it across the street in that old parking lot with President Kennedy's Air Force One and the Concorde.

Seattle should bid on Atlantis.

If they get a shuttle, I think they would have no choice but to buckle down and build a new wing for the museum. Hopefully, one that can house SAM 970 (Air Force One) indoors from now on--the weather can't be doing that plane any favors. But perhaps that's wishful thinking. I know they've already sunk a ton of money into the new WWI/WWII wing, as well as seriously upgrading the space exhibit.

 

[publiusr]

I think it would be nice to trade this or a flown orbiter to Russia to swap it out with one of their Buran boilerplates, so each country can have a shuttle from each country on display

 

[SpyOne]

Yeah, if Russia hadn't left most of theirs outside to get snowed on.
IIRC, the one Buran that was being stored indoors had the building collapse on it due to an abject lack of maintenance, too. A tragic waste.
I remember a space program engineer who said of Buran, "Anyone who says the Russians ripped off our design just isn't paying attention: they've improved it."

 

[C.E. Evans]

If Trek fans of the day hadn't been so insistent that the first shuttle be named Enterprise, we could have seen a real Constitution-class Enterprise orbiting the Earth.

Nice try blaming older Trek fans for something imaginary.

Even if OV-101 had kept the name Constitution, the shuttles wouldn't have been called "Constitution-class" because they're currently not called "Enterprise-class." They closest they ever had to an official design name was "the Space Shuttle Program."

 

[Sector 7]

If Trek fans of the day hadn't been so insistent that the first shuttle be named Enterprise, we could have seen a real Constitution-class Enterprise orbiting the Earth.

Nice try blaming older Trek fans for something imaginary.

Even if OV-101 had kept the name Constitution, the shuttles wouldn't have been called "Constitution-class" because they're currently not called "Enterprise-class." They closest they ever had to an official design name was "the Space Shuttle Program."

Also, if it had not been for us 'fans of the day' there would have been no Enterprise in The Space Shuttle Program. It was a very good public relations move by NASA. Not only did it encourage Star Trek fans to support real space exploration, it helped NASA's image by responding to the fans favorably.

 

[Pavonis]

Hey, you have to admit that it's a shame the name didn't get attached to a shuttle that actually went into space. But I wasn't around back then, so I don't know what was and was not publicly known about the space shuttle program at the time. How many shuttles were expected to be built and flown? Were other names of future orbiters discussed? Were Trek fans pushing for other starship names to be attached to any future shuttles?