On September 17, 1976,
NASA publicly unveils its first space shuttle, the Enterprise, during
a ceremony in Palmdale, California. In 1977, the Enterprise became
the first space shuttle to fly freely when it was lifted to a height
of 25,000 feet by a Boeing 747 and then released, gliding back to
Edwards Air Force Base on its own accord.
Construction began on June
4, 1974. Designated OV-101 (NASA Orbiter Vehicle 101), it was
originally planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on
Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. A letter-writing campaign by
Star Trek fans (Trekkies) to President Gerald Ford asked that the
orbiter be named after the Starship Enterprise. Most of the cast of
the original series along with Gene Rodenberry were guests at
Rockwell's, Palmdale California plant for the opening.
 |
Left to right:
NASA Administrator Dr. James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley (Dr. "Bones" McCoy); George Takei
(Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty"
Scott); Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock);
Gene Rodenberry (series creator); a NASA official and Walter
Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov)
Left to right: Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); George Takai (Mr. Sulu); DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy)
and James Doohan (Mr. Scott)
|
Documentary narrated by William Shatner
No comments:
Post a Comment