One Last Flight for Enterprise

In the spring of 1984 the Louisiana World Exposition (World's Fair) opened in downtown New Orleans. NASA had a very large exhibit designed around the newly-announced Space Station Freedom and the Shuttle program. In April NASA announced that the centerpiece of its exhibit would be the Enterprise. The Shuttle was to be barged in to the fair site, but not before a flyover of the Shuttle atop the 747 carrier aircraft, the same one used at the time by Columbia, Challenger and Discovery (Atlantis hadn't yet joined the fleet). I was working for Amoco Production Company back then, and a group of us sneaked up to the building's roof to see the spectacle. Against a faultless blue sky the Enterprise/747 appeared, making three passes over the old city and seemingly right above us on the roof, not more than a hundred feet above us. Later, during the fair, I was a part time writer and had an office of sorts at the fair, in the same building to be made infamous during Katrina. On weekends I'd spend the day at the fair, and I had to pass the Enterprise every morning and every evening. I got used to the sight. 1984 was a year jammed with Shuttle flights- the Solar Max rescue mission had just been flown. I met the 51D Discovery crew there, did a long interview with Bob Crippen there, then in training for the STS41G flight that would test simulated in-flight fuel transfer (only using water). I did a live TV broadcast for WDSU-TV when the Shuttle was transferred out, again by barge.
It all seems like a very long time ago-and a very different Shuttle program. I often wonder if we appreciate what capabilities we will soon give up, for "space capsules".

I watched a interview called the captains conference with Leonard Nimoy ,William Shatner and a few others. He recalled The enterprise being rolled out and that he and bill were there and how they felt.Of all the shuttles It sort've represents my generation the most . Ive seen it launch at the cape several times, more than any other shuttle. For those that have never seen it in person its truly a sight to behold.Its big its loud and although I was very young and barely remember its just as impressive as your dads Saturn V.

"space capsules" sounds like a new diet pill or some new designer drug. I prefer to call them a "not as expensive as a shuttle crew vehicle alternative" albeit a step back in some eyes. I think that Until ( and I hate to beat a dead drum here)we have (LEO) in orbit refueling and can construct a space craft in orbit (LEO)then anything beyond a "space capsule" is to expensive plain and simple. The guys at NASA said it themselves its all about the money.

Methuselah(sts) has served us well and I will never regard the shuttle as anything but a great program that stumbled but never fell. This is NASA's fault not planning ahead (I don't count constellation they had 30 freaking years to come up with something else) and not looking beyond the shuttle program.

When I was a kid, living in the UK, Enterprise was on the SCA-carried flight around Europe. I lived close to Standsted Airport. One day I looked out of my window, and just coming over the trees was a strange-looking 747 (was used to planes coming in low, heading to Stansted or sometimes circling out to Heathrow). Suddenly realize that this plane, literally heading straight for our house, was the SCA with Enterprise on-board! Grabbed my camera and went tearing down the stairs, through the living room, and out into the garden, on the other side of the house. Just as I did, the Enterprise came over the house, and me, and I got a bunch of pictures from directly underneath. Was awesome! Great to she she'll fly one more time!

Since all the flight tests were done here at Dryden (Edwards AFB),I'd like to see Enterprise come back to the desert for display. But, since NASA is apparently "selling" shuttles, I doubt I will see that.

Hi Fred,
Agree with most of your points, but to be fair to NASA, they DID do a lot to try to move beyond Shuttle. However, the R&D programmes kept being shut down, and, in the end, CxP funding ate their lunch. Even the STS itself was supposed to be a part of a system where the important system was the Space Tug / transfer vehicle, recognizing that it's the in-space systems that matter, not the launch systems. But, of course, it got deleted too, and STS became just the Shuttle! Thus it was left to the Europeans and Japanese to develop the technologies for in-space habitation (the ISS module shells) and the transfer vehicle tech (ATV and HTV).

I was one of many lined up outside the fence, at the end of the runway at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, that waited anxiously to see the 747 carrying the Enterprise land. It was well worth the wait. An impressive sight it was.

I think that when the Smithsonian folks see the real shuttles up close and are given the estimates for "cleaning them up" they will want to keep the Enterprise.

Vultures.

So, in the quite possible future, if I'm lucky (bizarre irony), I will take my grand-kids to Dulles and tell them all about the space shuttle and how I spent most of my professional career on a museum piece and a dead end. At least the Apollo guys kids and grand-kids had something to look forward to, mine, not so much it seems.

Bitter? Not really, just scared for our kids.