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List of Shuttle Carrier Aircraft flights

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A 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft carrying the space shuttle Atlantis taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on 1 July 2007

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]

Ferry Flights

Main article: Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
  • 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.
  • March 20–24, 1979 Columbia, ferry flight from Armstrong Flight Research Center to Kennedy Space Center (via Biggs Army Airfield El Paso, Kelly Air Force Base San Antonio, Eglin Air Force Base Florida)
  • 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
  • April 27–28, 1981 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Tinker Air Force Base Oklahoma) following landing of STS-1
  • November 24–25, 1981 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Bergstrom Air Force Base Austin, Texas) following landing of STS-2
  • April 6, 1982 Columbia, ferry flight from White Sands Space Harbor to Kennedy Space Center (via Barksdale Air Force Base Louisiana) following landing of STS-3
  • July 4–5, 1982 Challenger, ferry flight from Armstrong Flight Research Center to Kennedy Space Center (via Ellington Air Force Base Houston Texas) <http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/>
  • July 14–15, 1982 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Dyess Air Force Base Abilene Texas) following landing of STS-4
  • July 4–5, 1982 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Kelly Air Force Base) following STS-5
  • April 14–16, 1983 Challenger, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Kelly Air Force Base following STS-6
Spectators observe the arrival of the Space Shuttle Enterprise and its modified 747 transport aircraft at Cologne Bonn Airport, May 20, 1983.

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. ^ a b c "STS Chronology". NASA.
  2. ^ Mark, Hans (1987). The space station : a personal journey. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 156. ISBN 978-0822307273.
  3. ^ Mark, Hans (1987). The Space Station: A Personal Journey. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. pp. 157–161. ISBN 978-0822307273.
  4. ^ "Shuttle Enterprise begins international tour". www.upi.com. United Press International Inc. May 16, 1983. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  5. ^ https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/status/1994/status-19941010.html
  6. ^ https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/status/1996/status-19960412.html
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