It is the end of an era, as NASA's final space shuttle mission has been completed. To commemorate, let's look back at the very
first shuttle in the program - the
Enterprise - and it's official unveiling on September 17th, 1976. Originally intended to be christened the
Constitution, a write-in campaign to President Gerald Ford by
Star Trek fans requested that the new orbiter be named after the television starship. Although Ford did not acknowledge the fan campaign officially, the president - who, during World War II, had served on the naval aircraft carrier USS
Monterey, sister ship to the Navy's USS
Enterprise - overrode NASA officials. Most of
Star Trek's main cast, and creator
Gene Roddenberry (pictured above), attended the public debut of the vessel.
Although the shuttle
Enterprise was not actually equipped for spaceflight (a fact which rather irked Roddenberry, as he had hoped that the
Enterprise name would be tagged to America's first genuine
spaceship), having no engines nor heat shield, and was built solely as an atmospheric test vehicle, the craft was an important step forward in space exploration during a decade when that still seemed important to our future. I remember clearly the event above and took great pride at the time in being a
Star Trek fan. It's a shame that as a country, we've seemed to lost our passion for exploring the final frontier....
Couldn't agree more Chris! Thanks for the memories.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with all your sentiments. I, too, wish she had been able to fly. At least she is in a museum.
ReplyDeleteThe Enterprise is a beautiful lady, and we love her. And that does compute!
Thanks for the post. Ah, to go back and be 12 back then again...
Gordon Long
Is Shatner there? Can't see him
ReplyDeleteStart shooting a "reality" show on ISS where astronauts and scientists get into petty squabbles, and the American public will be interested again. /sarc
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, SpaceX is already contracted to fly a few flights, and there are lots of other private "enterprises" going into space. America hasn't lost its way—it has finally found it.
For whatever reason, Shatner did not attend the event.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Enterprise was to be refitted with a heat shield and engine, but the engineers made structural changes in Columbia's design and weight. That made it expensive to refit Enterprise to meet the same specifications. After the Challenger disaster, it was brought up again, but they would've needed to dismantle Enterprise and rebuild too much. Instead, they focused on building Endeavor.
One thing the Enterprise got to do the other shuttles did not, was sit on the Vandenburg AFB launch pad in California for test purposes back in the 80's.
ReplyDeleteI lament the fact I was never able to see a west coast shuttle launch from my house.
Shatner was probably doing something more important, like making Kingdom of the Spiders.
ReplyDeleteWow, but this can make you feel old. All through the 70s, we looked forward to the grand and glorious age of the space shuttle, which would make going into space routine. Of course, budget cuts made it less capable and glamorous than the original plans. And so quickly it seems, all the orbiters are retired. Life passes too damn fast.
ReplyDeleteI was only six when this happened so I don't remember it. I did see pics of it in when I picked up some used sci-fi mags several years later. Oh and I love Kingdom of the spiders. One of the better films from the trend of nature strikes back films from the mid-70's.
ReplyDelete