Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests in 1977
NASA's first Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (a modified Boeing 747) and five T-38 aircraft flies over Orbiter 101, also known as Enterprise, while it was parked on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base. Enterprise had just completed its second free flight of the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) on September 13, 1977, piloted by Joe Engle and Richard Truly.
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) shown here was instrumental in the ALT flights, and also flew 70 of the 87 ferry missions during the operational phase of the shuttle program, including 46 of the 54 post-mission ferry flights from Dryden (now known as Armstrong Flight Research Center) to the Kennedy Space Center. After the orbiters were retired, this SCA flew three ferry missions to deliver Discovery, Enterprise, and Endeavour to museums where they are currently on display.
In November 1990, a second Shuttle Carrier Aircraft was delivered to NASA. Upon its retirement on February 8, 2012, it had amassed 33,004 flight hours over its 38-year flight career, including 386 flights as a NASA shuttle carrier aircraft, 66 of which were flights with a space shuttle mounted atop the fuselage. It flew 17 of the post-shuttle-landing ferry flights from Edwards to Kennedy.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: S77-28200
Date: September 13, 1977
Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests in 1977
NASA's first Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (a modified Boeing 747) and five T-38 aircraft flies over Orbiter 101, also known as Enterprise, while it was parked on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base. Enterprise had just completed its second free flight of the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) on September 13, 1977, piloted by Joe Engle and Richard Truly.
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) shown here was instrumental in the ALT flights, and also flew 70 of the 87 ferry missions during the operational phase of the shuttle program, including 46 of the 54 post-mission ferry flights from Dryden (now known as Armstrong Flight Research Center) to the Kennedy Space Center. After the orbiters were retired, this SCA flew three ferry missions to deliver Discovery, Enterprise, and Endeavour to museums where they are currently on display.
In November 1990, a second Shuttle Carrier Aircraft was delivered to NASA. Upon its retirement on February 8, 2012, it had amassed 33,004 flight hours over its 38-year flight career, including 386 flights as a NASA shuttle carrier aircraft, 66 of which were flights with a space shuttle mounted atop the fuselage. It flew 17 of the post-shuttle-landing ferry flights from Edwards to Kennedy.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: S77-28200
Date: September 13, 1977