List_of_Shuttle_Carrier_Aircraft_flights

List of Shuttle Carrier Aircraft flights

List of Shuttle Carrier Aircraft flights

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Shuttle Carrier Aircraft ferry flights generally originated at Edwards Air Force Base in California or on one occasion White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico following missions which landed there, especially in the early days of the Space Shuttle program or when weather at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy Space Center prevented ending missions there. Flights generally ended at the SLF. A number of flights began at Armstrong Flight Research Center following delivery of the orbiter from Rockwell International to NASA from the nearby facilities in Palmdale, California.[1][2]

A 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft carrying the space shuttle Atlantis taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on 1 July 2007
Silhouettes listing the number of ferry and free flights of the various Orbiters and the Phantom Ray on the port side of one of the SCAs

Ferry Flights

  • November 15, 1977 Enterprise, ferry flight test started and ended at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 3 hours, 21 minutes
  • November 16, 1977 Enterprise, ferry flight test started and ended at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 4 hours, 17 minutes
  • November 17, 1977 Enterprise, ferry flight test started and ended at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 4 hours, 13 minutes
  • November 18, 1977 Enterprise, ferry flight test started and ended at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 3 hours, 37 minutes
  • December 9, 1977 Enterprise, approach and landing flight tests Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 3 hours, 37 minutes
  • March 10–13, 1978 Enterprise, ferry flight from Armstrong Flight Research Center to Marshall Space Flight Center (via Ellington Air Force Base) for vertical ground vibration tests at MSFC.
  • April 10, 1979 Enterprise, ferry flight from Marshall Space Flight Center to Kennedy Space Center following vertical ground vibration tests at MSFC.
  • August 10–16, 1979 Enterprise transported from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Armstrong Flight Research Center in California (via Atlanta, St. Louis, Tulsa, Denver, Hill Air Force Base Utah, Vandenberg Air Force Base) following static tests at KSC
Spectators observe the arrival of the Space Shuttle Enterprise and its modified 747 transport aircraft at Cologne Bonn Airport, May 20, 1983.
Longest leg SZL-PMD (1200NM), average leg 690NM
More information #, Mission ...

Other transportation methods

Overland

Space shuttle orbiters were constructed in Palmdale, California and transported overland to the Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC), a distance of 36 miles. The shuttle carrier aircraft was not used for this initial leg of the journey but was used to transport the orbiters to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Additionally the orbiters were routinely towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility to the Orbiter Processing Facility after landing at the Kennedy Space Center either after missions or after removal from the SCA.[1]

Barge

[1]

References

  1. [1]
    "STS Chronology". NASA.
  2. [2]
    Mark, Hans (1987). The space station : a personal journey. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 156. ISBN 978-0822307273.
  3. [3]
    Mark, Hans (1987). The Space Station: A Personal Journey. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. pp. 157–161. ISBN 978-0822307273.
  4. [4]
    "Shuttle Enterprise begins international tour". www.upi.com. United Press International Inc. May 16, 1983. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  5. [5]
    NASA (2020-12-31). "SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM HAER No. TX-116" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
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