My father-in-law worked for Rockwell as an engineer and was responsible for hydraulics in this machine. My father-in-law, his son, and I were present at the launch of this orbiter and it is or was a view that I will never forget. We all stood on the tarmac as this 747 rolled over us with her payload. The top of the tail of the 747 is over 50 feet and on top of this magnificent bird was another incredible bird. All toll, the stack of air craft was somewhere around 100 feet. Quite an impressive site. That was 42 years ago and nothing since can compare in our desire for real discovery.
My dad worked at McDonnell Douglas and was subcontracted to Rockwell to work on the maneuvering rockets. Got to see Enterprise and the 747 when it stopped over in St Louis in August 1979.
I remember this event vividly. I was in 3rd grade when this happened. Back then I would spend my time afterschool in the public library reading books about the NASA space programs of the 1960's and 70's. I was fascinated by all things space and I credit the Apollo programs and the Viking missions with stimulating my interest in science and mathematics helping to steer me into an engineering career. It was not the most lucrative I admit but I really wasn't interested in law or medicine so no regrets!
Juan, I was 19 when the year the Shuttle Enterprise made that first test in 1977. I watched it on live TV and for a moment was taken back to the previous decade during my youth when I, just like you, was fascinated with project Apollo. I grew up watching every minute of the Apollo missions. We were about 10 years apart but had the same mindset. I went into journalism during the heyday of newspapers and magazines, covering general assignment news, but eagerly submitting as many stories and commentaries about space exploration as I could persuade editors to run.
@@barrijhnson8297 Yes thank you. I know all that too. I just did not understand when you said they are "with" Lockheed Martin. I thought you're saying Boeing and Lockheed are the same company. What do you mean "they are with"?
@@My_Fair_Lady thank you for being a typical troll fun-hating piece of shit. Why did you feel the need to post that? Are you that miserable of person that you go around and try to bring people down your pathetic/sad level? I feel sorry for you.
@@My_Fair_Lady there it is again. What a miserable person you must be. I'm starting to wonder if I should feel more sorry for the people that have to be around you. Life is too short to spend it being this way. Sad.
Insane setup with that 747 that never gets enough attention. Also, big shout out to joe Engle. The only man ever to fly two different winged space vehicles, shuttle and the x15. 😎😎
Engle is the man. He is also the only man to manually fly the shuttle all the way from orbit to landing (STS-2). Even moon walker John Young (Apollo 16) as CDR on the first shuttle test flight (STS-1) did not do this, as he had not flown the X-15 like Engle. STS-2 was the only time it was ever done. When Engle and Truly were in training for the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Edwards AFB in 1976, one day in the simulator, while they were waiting for the sim sups to setup the next test, Engle, just for fun, replaced his joystick the opposite way (it was removable) so that up was down and left was right. He then promptly landed the shuttle simulator perfectly from altitude the very first time. This is why a guy like Engle was in that left seat. (Source: "Into the Black" by Rowland White. Fantastic book if you are interested in the whole leadup to and the first test flights of the STS.) I have a prized autographed picture of Joe Engle piloting the shuttle Columbia to the dry lakebed at Edwards AFB on STS-2 in 1981. EDITED TO ADD: Engle was actually bumped from Apollo 17 by NASA to accommodate geologist Harrison Schmitt. This was because it was the last flight of the program and NASA were being pressured to have an astronaut who possessed a geology degree, on the moon before the program's end. All the previous Apollo moon landing missions had been flown by crews of military test-pilots who (despite not being formally trained geologists), were actually very observant at identifying interesting rocks and soil to bring back form the moon's surface. One only has to imagine what overachievers all of the Apollo astronauts were, to understand how this came to be ! David Scott (Apollo 15 CDR) in particular was said to be an outstanding student, and could easily have completed a degree in geology. However, as good as they were, the test pilots were not trained geologists, armed with a geologist's eye and many years of study . One would only have to assume that Engle, after being told that, no, you are actually NOT going to walk on the moon, was given carte blanche to choose his next assignment at NASA. What better mission to select than that as pilot of the vehicle that would succeed the X-15.
@@mazdaman0075 Thanks for the book reference. I think that the X-15, which predates NASA, is more fascinating than the shuttle. (meaning if I could ride in either but not both, it would be the X-15) (however if I could ride in the X-15 or the SR-71, I'd have to flip a coin)
I was working for Rockwell International when SEP 1 occurred and was fortunate to be allowed to watch the flight via CCTV at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. There was a bit of concern over how close the Shuttle tail cone was to the 747's tail, in fact there was a pool taken on whether it would clear, but as this film shows all went well, better than anyone anticipated. Between the skill of the 747 pilot who made that big bird do maneuvers no one knew it could and the nerves of steel for the shuttle crew, that flying brick served us well for many many years.
Was stationed at Edwards during these flights. What a time for America! Our group tracked these missions with telescopic 35 mm movie cameras on powered tracking mounts. NASA audio was piped over our radios to cue our camera turn on, etc. Thanks for the post. A blast from the past to hear the NASA callouts again. GO for SEP!
I lived in Lancaster,Ca when the shuttle was rolled out. Our house backed up to 10th Street East. We set on our back wall as the shuttle rolled directly behind our house. Incredible memories for an 11 year old. The first three rolled behind our house through 1979.
I got to see the 747 with the space shuttle and two jets flying over my house when I was a kid in Lancaster, CA (30 miles from EAF base) … one of the coolest things I have ever seen 👍
My dad worked for NASA at Plant 42 where the shuttles were built. In September 1976 they had Leonard Nimoy come out when the ship was named Enterprise. My dad had several pictures with him.
I was a Junior in college at the time studying engineering. Born in 57 I was caught up as a kid in the space race. Used to film Gemini missions with my dad's bell and howell 8 mm camera off of the TV. In 1982 I joined the US Air Force and was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base. I worked on a different program than the Shuttle, but while at Vandenberg, I watched them build up SLC 6 that was going to be used to launch the shuttle from the West coast. And I was able watch the Enterprise when it came out for fit checks. It was parked on the tarmac and I got to go right up under it and touch it.
I actually had the honor of working on 3 of the 4 Pratt & Whitney JT9 engines for one of the 747 Shuttle Carriers. I have an autographed picture from Space Shuttle Flight Engineer Mark Taylor that I treasure to this day. Great group of people and very appreciative of everyone that contributed to the success of the NASA Program. GO USA !!!!
The reason I loved being an auto tech in the military myself. I thought I could conquer the world once I understood turbine engine technology used in the M1 tanks.
I am 48 now. I am grown up with the space shuttle. Until now I am still fascinated by this beautiful space craft. I pity we don't have a Shuttle here in the Netherlands then I would visit it!
I met pilot Fitz Fulton and shuttle commander Joe Engel at an printshow where in which they signed art prints depicting this flight. What a honor and pleasure to be in the presence of these great men.
A friend of mine was a test pilot at Edwards in the late 70's and flew shuttle profiles (not with the orbiter, but as a matter of course in training for possible chase missions) in the T-38. He commented on how shocked he was at the approach angle the first time he flew one. This video really captures what he was talking about.
I remember in elementary school in the 3rd grade in 1977, all classes were gathered together in our library to watch this. I didn't know what was going on, but I did recognize the Space Shuttle. My father worked at Kelly AFB at the time. You can imagine my excitement when he told me the 747 and Columbia were stopping over at Kelly on their way back to Cape Canaveral. It was a sight to behold both aircraft up close. Later when Young and Crippen went up in the Columbia, it all made sense. Small world, across from our elementary school was Sul Ross middle school where Crippen's sister-in-law, was a teacher there. I can't believe the shuttle program is over, but I was fortunate to see the program from its inception to dissipation. It seems like yesterday that I witnessed this.
And now we have booster rockets maneuvering back from separation and landing on their own. Mind blowing trying to imagine what technologies will be in 30-40 years.
@@markherring3513 I remember watching a documentary saying the original Nintendo gaming system had more computing power than the original space rockets. Truly amazing engineering and mathematics to pull these missions off.
Wow, I've never seen this footage before it's incredible 😍 I'll always remember the famous footage of the cast of Startrek with the Enterprise after they decided to go with that name. As a fan of both space travel and Startrek, that was a really nice touch.
I was in the Civil Air Patrol working at Edwards AFB when this first flight occurred. It was very impressive watching the Shuttle come down like a polished brick and then flare for so long before touching down.
The number of trucks required to drag that orbiter across 35 miles of highway at a crawl really puts into perspective the power of the aircraft that humped this thing to 30k feet.
Autoland capability mentioned at 12:40 never completed development. A partial test on STS-3 caused the orbiter to come in too fast before Commander Gordon Fullerton took control for touchdown, and it was decided that it was not possible to certify the autoland system with STS-4 being the last "test" flight before "operational" missions.
When the Soviets stole the Shuttle designs, they actually added jet engines so it could fly rather than glide. They also designed it to be automated, so it could fly without a crew. Too bad for them the Soviet Union broke up after only one flight.
I saw Enterprise twice, once in DC when she was on display at the Smithsonian, and then as a college student fifteen years later, when she moved to New York. She's a beautiful ship, it was an honor to encounter her.
the old time american diet of bacon, red meat, 3 packs of non filtered cigarettes a day, a tumbler of scotch for lunch with a playful slap on his secretary’s bottom, and 3 gin martinis after a steak dinner.
I had a terrible case of diarrhea when I watched this on CZcams for the first time. So thankful to be a part of this piece of aviation history and to even be mentioned in the same sentence with some of the best engineers of our generation.
@@knowledgenuke6029 Seriously? I hope you were being silly when you asked that :) Everyone knows it's the BBC who used to wipe their tapes to record something else.
Memories.....the STS program still makes the hair on my arms stand straight up. RIP to all of the pioneers that never gave up on the STS for all mankind. You will live forever.
Lovely look back , crazy to think how far weve progressed since then .I thought that the wanted to launch the shuttle from the planes back when I first saw this back before the first proper launch in 81 .
16:58 Was absolutely incredible, you've got all this constant audio coordination relaying the information between the team members whilst multiple F-5's flank the shuttle as its landing lol.
I had the best view on Earth sitting on our wall that backed up to 10th St East. We lived between J and Lancaster Blvd. It rolled close enough to spit on. We didn't. Lol.
Toured the Enterprise at New Orleans World's Fair, watched the first shuttle launches in my teens, getting up early to see many. Loving the Space X etc advances going on now. Cool vid
It was flawed for sure. 2% chance of smoking it every time it went up were not great odds. But I still think the programme was a success overall and it was the tool for many great accomplishments.
my second grade teachers husband was an engineer on the shuttles in the 70's we got a bunch of in school demos of the shuttle being built. He used to bring in tiles and all sorts of cool stuff
That's awesome. My high school journalism teacher was an alternate for the Teacher in Space program, and always started each semester with a talk about everything he experienced there.
It was originally planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. Fans of Star Trek asked US President Gerald Ford, through a letter-writing campaign, to name the orbiter after the television show's fictional starship, the USS Enterprise. White House advisors cited "hundreds of thousands of letters" from Trekkies, “one of the most dedicated constituencies in the country", as the reason for giving the shuttle that name instead.
Piotr Dudała I was referring to the Shuttle itself but if you are observing that there would still be a connection to the TOS era craft that’s fine most people wouldn’t get it. I understand that to you there is only the “original” Constitution-Class ship but few people would have made that connection if it had gone that way. People so prone to argue the inane but I will simply make the observation that the OV-101 was the only Shuttle that never actually made it to Space and that “Kirk” (Shatner) actually says that he has a fear of flying and avoids it when he can. As for myself, I have a passing interest in trivia but a much more pronounced interest in reality.
👍💯. I sure hope our schools are going to be able to put out such talent in this day and time (2020s). Kids having to learn all the crazy stuff in schools these days, I wonder if STEM is going to really be a thing that is going to work.
100% correct in fact its worse than you think , its now a proven scientific fact that intelligence has gone down hill, not kidding the new gens are not as bright, its not their fault obviously its just the circumstances they were born and brought up into sadly.
@MrCloudseeker They were. Even at the end we were getting 2-3 flights/year. From Feb 2010(STS-130 Endeavour) until retirement when STS-135 Atlantis landed on July 21st 2011, there were a total of 6 flights. Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour all flew twice in that 17 month period. Surprisingly during the 1st Return To Flight(RTF) effort following the Challenger disaster, NASA was still manifested for 20+ missions per year. This was of course highly optimistic.
This is the America we need back. Everyone used to watch these launches. They were national news. Gave everyone a sense of pride and hope for the future.
Frits Felix too much reality tv bullshit!!! Remember Discovery Sunday? Wings? Thrills, Chills and Thrills? Those were great then this reality bullshit came along and ruined every great channel it touched.
I remember the day. I got off work to go home and watch the flight on tv. My boss knew I loved this program. He even let me off work to watch the first taxi tests. I remember all of this. Then sadly my first sight of the Shuttle was the launch of Challenger on that cold January 28th 1986. I was there, I witnessed it. So sad.
I eagerly followed each step of the testing back then. I was lucky that they had TV coverage at the base I was on in Texas to see the debut flight of the shuttle.
I used to live 45 mins south of KSC, always enjoyed the BOOM BOOM when they returned, if they came in south to north it'd shake the house, wake the dog and occasionally set off car alarms, I was usually watching the NASA ch and expecting it. I miss that. Since we get a lotta storm here in summer we get used to thunder but thunder and a launch have dif low pitch rolling sounds you learn to recognize, a launch is a smoother slow rolling sound, little dif pitch. This vid was great, thanks !
I also got to hear the sonic boom quite often. But instead of the orbiter's, it was from fighters in the Middle East in the early 70s. Then, about a decade later, half a world away from all that, in Rio, I was at work in an office building, and... BOOM BOOM. People got up from their desks looking at each other, wondering what they had heard. I immediately recognized the sound and said it was a sonic boom. Of course nobody believed me. "Sonic boom? Over Rio? You're nuts". Then the evening news cleared the mystery: Brazilian Air force fighters were scrambled to escort a British Vulcan bomber that was on a low-fuel emergency due to a broken refueling probe on its way back to the UK from the Falklands conflict, and needed to divert to Rio. Indeed, the fighters had gone supersonic over the city. That was the last time I heard a sonic boom.
As a member of the media, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Fitz Fulton and Gordon Fullerton during the 25th anniversary of the Enterprise test. Interesting that the name Enterprise conjures visions of space travel, yet the shuttle Enterprise was never meant to go into space. The 747 used was purchased from American Airlines for a rather cheap price.
On one of these Enterprise test flights--I was sitting on Trim pad 22, running a T-38A engine test run. And we had to hold for the two aircraft to taxi out to the runway--past our location. Wish I had a camera then--history in the making. But we set there so long--that we finally had to shut down--not enough fuel to taxi back to the parking area. So we got to watch the entire flight--from takeoff to the landing of the shuttle test aircraft. The Enterprise was built without any intention that it ever venture into space--simply a test article. But when the Challenger blew up--it was considered to update the systems--and use the Enterprise as a space vehicle--until it became clear--doing this would result in costs higher than building a new orbiter. So now--it resides as a museum piece in New York City aboard the Intrepid.
actually, it was planed that 001-Enterprise would be the 5th orbiter to launch until some genius said, "hey guys, you do remember we shocked this hard enough to simulate 100+ flights already, right?"
@@seancoate5695 Second orbiter actually. OV-101 was always planned as an actual space vehicle (hence the "OV" designation). After the vib tests at MFSC, OV-101 was to return to Palmdale and be outfitted with the missing space systems and then delivered to KSC for first flight processing. This never happened due the fact it wss the first orbiter and had serious weight problems. So the decision was made to convert the Structural Test Article-099 (STA-099) into the second orbiter making it OV-099 (Challenger). OV-099 was much lighter than OV-101 was increasing the payload mass to orbit capability. The fifth orbiter, OV-105 (Endeavour) didn't come along until after the loss of OV-099 as a replacement constructed from a set of structural spares contracted for during the final assembly of the two last orbiters (OV-103 Discovery and OV-104 Atlantis).
The Shuttle was incapable of anything but low earth orbit. It was an overly complicated and expensive space truck that failed to be cheap or rapidly reusable. They accomplished a lot with it, but many of the same tasks could have been done with a heavy lift rocket and crew capsule.
@@davidking1460 Exactly. It doesn't cost SpaceX $2 billion to launch a rocket because they don't have 6000 employees hanging out at Marshall, many of them engaged in make work activities. And Ames, and Glenn, and Langley, and Stennis, and Goddard, and...
I remember watching live that test of Enterprise. I was worried that the shuttle would hit the tail of the 747, and was relieved that it did not. I had forgotten that Gordon Fullerton was on this test. I remember him as Capcom in Houston during the one of the Moon walks on Apollo 17.
I can remember back In the late seventies In Saint Louis Missouri washing the orbiter ride piggyback on A747 just amazing I didn't even know what I was witnessing back then I was so young
I was a young boy when the first shuttle took off. What an amazing piece of technology and achievement for NASA and America. Without the Shuttle the ISS would not be possible. A turning point for all of Civilization and the pre-cursor to the colonization of Space.
What are you talking about? NASA hasn't changed this. JWST for instance is built by NASA, ESA and CSA and will be carried to space by the Ariane 5, an ESA rocket developed by France and Germany (one of the most reliable rockets in the world btw, Long March is unreliable in comparison).
13:55 - What a smooth landing ! Grandma didn't even spill her tea ! 😂 Damn ! Some of the best stuff happened when there was no HD ! 😭 Artemis is the lone hope for aviation enthusiasts ...
@@krtwood hahahahahaha saying that trash here --------your about to die here .................best go back to elon son before you wake up a few sleeping giants who know their shit OK .
I was working at Marana Air Center in Arizona in 1996 when the shuttle transport did a low pass over the airfield. Everyone was outside to watch as it flew by at about 500 feet on its way to Florida. One helluva sight.
KRAZEEIZATION I was 12/13 in 83 and living in Ohio. Seen the piggy back over the corn fields near my dad's house. Just a couple thousand feet off the ground. Awesome sight to see...
I've always wondered why Enterprise was never refit and flown into space. Also, William Shatner should've been made honorary captain on her maiden flight into space.
@@kg4boj or E, or Jonny Archer's NX-01, or F for that matter although I do think quite highly of Captain Va'Kel Shon, seeing as how that fella is the first Andorian to command an Enterprise!
I think the 747 pitches down and the Shuttle pitches up immediately after separation for that reason. Also they are at the same airspeed at separation and airspeed does not dissipate that fast even with no thrust. Just guessing.
The 747 is in a shallow dive to begin with. I imagine he increased his dive maybe dropped slats and spoliers a bit? Do separation from a good enough airspeed for the shuttle to exchange what he has for altitude. I wonder about wake turbulence. Eventually that shuttle has to come back down and the 747 is in front and below.
Watching this in 1977, one could easily imagine that by 2017 we would all be going to space regularly, privately and cheaply - open for anyone with a license to fly. Its truly sad to see how far we have NOT come in 40 years. The end of the SST program just reinforces this. We have been held back with regards to transportation technology.
This is great footage. I always found it amusing that so much effort was put forth to name this ship after the Star Trek space ship Enterprise and yet this one never actually went to space.
love these old videos, they have everything better especially the sound and voice, nice calm relaxing just a pleasure to listen to
Me too
My father-in-law worked for Rockwell as an engineer and was responsible for hydraulics in this machine. My father-in-law, his son, and I were present at the launch of this orbiter and it is or was a view that I will never forget. We all stood on the tarmac as this 747 rolled over us with her payload. The top of the tail of the 747 is over 50 feet and on top of this magnificent bird was another incredible bird. All toll, the stack of air craft was somewhere around 100 feet. Quite an impressive site. That was 42 years ago and nothing since can compare in our desire for real discovery.
William 'D' my Dad worked for Hughes Aircraft during the Apollo program and designed gyroscopes.
My dad was an airconditioner repair man. How cool is that!
My dad worked at McDonnell Douglas and was subcontracted to Rockwell to work on the maneuvering rockets. Got to see Enterprise and the 747 when it stopped over in St Louis in August 1979.
The lords of Congress obviously don't like the space shuttle
@@charlesgray9390 very cool
I remember this event vividly. I was in 3rd grade when this happened. Back then I would spend my time afterschool in the public library reading books about the NASA space programs of the 1960's and 70's. I was fascinated by all things space and I credit the Apollo programs and the Viking missions with stimulating my interest in science and mathematics helping to steer me into an engineering career. It was not the most lucrative I admit but I really wasn't interested in law or medicine so no regrets!
What do you engineer?
same experience but it was with vostok
Juan, I was 19 when the year the Shuttle Enterprise made that first test in 1977. I watched it on live TV and for a moment was taken back to the previous decade during my youth when I, just like you, was fascinated with project Apollo. I grew up watching every minute of the Apollo missions. We were about 10 years apart but had the same mindset. I went into journalism during the heyday of newspapers and magazines, covering general assignment news, but eagerly submitting as many stories and commentaries about space exploration as I could persuade editors to run.
Halfwit
Two incredible aircraft. The 747 first flew in 1969, and Boeing STILL has a factory making new ones in 2019.
And they are with Lockheed Martin.
@@barrijhnson8297 Explain please. Who are "they." Lockheed does not make the 747,
@@barrijhnson8297 Yes thank you. I know all that too. I just did not understand when you said they are "with" Lockheed Martin. I thought you're saying Boeing and Lockheed are the same company. What do you mean "they are with"?
The last 747-800 rolled off the line last month. No more will be made. It’s now in the history books.
Final one left yesterday
This is fantastic. As an 80s/90s kid the space shuttle is the most single iconic thing out there. Thanks for posting!
@@My_Fair_Lady thank you for being a typical troll fun-hating piece of shit. Why did you feel the need to post that? Are you that miserable of person that you go around and try to bring people down your pathetic/sad level? I feel sorry for you.
@@My_Fair_Lady there it is again. What a miserable person you must be. I'm starting to wonder if I should feel more sorry for the people that have to be around you. Life is too short to spend it being this way. Sad.
Insane setup with that 747 that never gets enough attention. Also, big shout out to joe Engle. The only man ever to fly two different winged space vehicles, shuttle and the x15. 😎😎
Engle is the man. He is also the only man to manually fly the shuttle all the way from orbit to landing (STS-2). Even moon walker John Young (Apollo 16) as CDR on the first shuttle test flight (STS-1) did not do this, as he had not flown the X-15 like Engle. STS-2 was the only time it was ever done.
When Engle and Truly were in training for the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Edwards AFB in 1976, one day in the simulator, while they were waiting for the sim sups to setup the next test, Engle, just for fun, replaced his joystick the opposite way (it was removable) so that up was down and left was right. He then promptly landed the shuttle simulator perfectly from altitude the very first time. This is why a guy like Engle was in that left seat. (Source: "Into the Black" by Rowland White. Fantastic book if you are interested in the whole leadup to and the first test flights of the STS.)
I have a prized autographed picture of Joe Engle piloting the shuttle Columbia to the dry lakebed at Edwards AFB on STS-2 in 1981.
EDITED TO ADD:
Engle was actually bumped from Apollo 17 by NASA to accommodate geologist Harrison Schmitt. This was because it was the last flight of the program and NASA were being pressured to have an astronaut who possessed a geology degree, on the moon before the program's end.
All the previous Apollo moon landing missions had been flown by crews of military test-pilots who (despite not being formally trained geologists), were actually very observant at identifying interesting rocks and soil to bring back form the moon's surface. One only has to imagine what overachievers all of the Apollo astronauts were, to understand how this came to be ! David Scott (Apollo 15 CDR) in particular was said to be an outstanding student, and could easily have completed a degree in geology. However, as good as they were, the test pilots were not trained geologists, armed with a geologist's eye and many years of study .
One would only have to assume that Engle, after being told that, no, you are actually NOT going to walk on the moon, was given carte blanche to choose his next assignment at NASA. What better mission to select than that as pilot of the vehicle that would succeed the X-15.
@@mazdaman0075 Thanks for the book reference. I think that the X-15, which predates NASA, is more fascinating than the shuttle. (meaning if I could ride in either but not both, it would be the X-15) (however if I could ride in the X-15 or the SR-71, I'd have to flip a coin)
I was working for Rockwell International when SEP 1 occurred and was fortunate to be allowed to watch the flight via CCTV at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. There was a bit of concern over how close the Shuttle tail cone was to the 747's tail, in fact there was a pool taken on whether it would clear, but as this film shows all went well, better than anyone anticipated. Between the skill of the 747 pilot who made that big bird do maneuvers no one knew it could and the nerves of steel for the shuttle crew, that flying brick served us well for many many years.
Was stationed at Edwards during these flights. What a time for America! Our group tracked these missions with telescopic 35 mm movie cameras on powered tracking mounts. NASA audio was piped over our radios to cue our camera turn on, etc. Thanks for the post. A blast from the past to hear the NASA callouts again. GO for SEP!
We lived in Lancaster. We were on our roof watching.
Love how all the “engineers” come out of the woodwork on CZcams.
Hell I bet I bump into Henry Ford on here soon
I lived in Lancaster,Ca when the shuttle was rolled out. Our house backed up to 10th Street East. We set on our back wall as the shuttle rolled directly behind our house. Incredible memories for an 11 year old. The first three rolled behind our house through 1979.
I got to see the 747 with the space shuttle and two jets flying over my house when I was a kid in Lancaster, CA (30 miles from EAF base) … one of the coolest things I have ever seen 👍
I saw it fly over Manchester UK in June 1983 whilst on its European tour, amazing stuff even to a 24 year old mechanic.
@@johnprice5784 Watched two low passes over Hobby Airport (HOU) in 1985, was working in that same hangar in January 1986 when the news came out.
My mother was one of the Trekkies who got Orbiter 101 to be named Enterprise. Massive amount of META for Star Trek’s history
My dad worked for NASA at Plant 42 where the shuttles were built. In September 1976 they had Leonard Nimoy come out when the ship was named Enterprise. My dad had several pictures with him.
I'm convinced "Star Trek" references to the Voyager probes was a return hat-tip
I was a Junior in college at the time studying engineering. Born in 57 I was caught up as a kid in the space race. Used to film Gemini missions with my dad's bell and howell 8 mm camera off of the TV. In 1982 I joined the US Air Force and was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base. I worked on a different program than the Shuttle, but while at Vandenberg, I watched them build up SLC 6 that was going to be used to launch the shuttle from the West coast. And I was able watch the Enterprise when it came out for fit checks. It was parked on the tarmac and I got to go right up under it and touch it.
Wow, super lucky.
Hello gk10002000 I enjoyed reading your story! 👍👍👍✈️✈️✈️
Joh Nathan ？在野黨⋯⋯o
Joh Nath
😀😀
the voice of narrator is the best I ever heard, also the most helpful for sleeping.thank you, sir
I actually had the honor of working on 3 of the 4 Pratt & Whitney JT9 engines for one of the 747 Shuttle Carriers. I have an autographed picture from Space Shuttle Flight Engineer Mark Taylor that I treasure to this day. Great group of people and very appreciative of everyone that contributed to the success of the NASA Program. GO USA !!!!
The reason I loved being an auto tech in the military myself. I thought I could conquer the world once I understood turbine engine technology used in the M1 tanks.
Interested to know why P&W engines were preferred over RR.
@@chrislaw4958 because U.S.A.
Sorry to hear that
@@ccc17219 100% because made in USA, that's a very diplomatic way of putting it -
I am 48 now. I am grown up with the space shuttle. Until now I am still fascinated by this beautiful space craft. I pity we don't have a Shuttle here in the Netherlands then I would visit it!
I met pilot Fitz Fulton and shuttle commander Joe Engel at an printshow where in which they signed art prints depicting this flight. What a honor and pleasure to be in the presence of these great men.
So who like me in 2019 still misses the Shuttle? Maybe they never fulfilled the reuseability cost factor as promised...but they were still BADASS!!!!!
It's a bummer, Alexa play rocket man
@@dag1407 Good one. Cheers!
@@jeffk1482 Cheers to you as well
'generation space shuttle' we are ;)
Saw this from my plane over Washington, DC, when they flew around the country.
WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE seeing the shuttle being carried piggy-back
A friend of mine was a test pilot at Edwards in the late 70's and flew shuttle profiles (not with the orbiter, but as a matter of course in training for possible chase missions) in the T-38. He commented on how shocked he was at the approach angle the first time he flew one. This video really captures what he was talking about.
I remember in elementary school in the 3rd grade in 1977, all classes were gathered together in our library to watch this. I didn't know what was going on, but I did recognize the Space Shuttle. My father worked at Kelly AFB at the time. You can imagine my excitement when he told me the 747 and Columbia were stopping over at Kelly on their way back to Cape Canaveral. It was a sight to behold both aircraft up close. Later when Young and Crippen went up in the Columbia, it all made sense. Small world, across from our elementary school was Sul Ross middle school where Crippen's sister-in-law, was a teacher there. I can't believe the shuttle program is over, but I was fortunate to see the program from its inception to dissipation. It seems like yesterday that I witnessed this.
My parents were in high school in 1977
I was 10 years old watching this on TV. It´s amazing what they were able to do in those days with so little computing power.
And now we have booster rockets maneuvering back from separation and landing on their own. Mind blowing trying to imagine what technologies will be in 30-40 years.
There is more technology in a calculator than the rockets for the first moon landing. I find that an insane fact.
@@markherring3513 I remember watching a documentary saying the original Nintendo gaming system had more computing power than the original space rockets. Truly amazing engineering and mathematics to pull these missions off.
Wow, I've never seen this footage before it's incredible 😍 I'll always remember the famous footage of the cast of Startrek with the Enterprise after they decided to go with that name. As a fan of both space travel and Startrek, that was a really nice touch.
I was in the Civil Air Patrol working at Edwards AFB when this first flight occurred. It was very impressive watching the Shuttle come down like a polished brick and then flare for so long before touching down.
The number of trucks required to drag that orbiter across 35 miles of highway at a crawl really puts into perspective the power of the aircraft that humped this thing to 30k feet.
Autoland capability mentioned at 12:40 never completed development. A partial test on STS-3 caused the orbiter to come in too fast before Commander Gordon Fullerton took control for touchdown, and it was decided that it was not possible to certify the autoland system with STS-4 being the last "test" flight before "operational" missions.
Yet the Buran achieved full autonomous flight but only flew 1 orbital test flight.
Even after all these years, this is exciting stuff.
"Will be flown to a powerless landing like a glider..." Excellent documentary.
When the Soviets stole the Shuttle designs, they actually added jet engines so it could fly rather than glide. They also designed it to be automated, so it could fly without a crew. Too bad for them the Soviet Union broke up after only one flight.
That is an impressive landing of a flying brick!
I got to see the last shuttle launch when I was 11 years old, coolest thing I’ve ever got to witness, 6 miles out the ground was shaking
I saw Enterprise twice, once in DC when she was on display at the Smithsonian, and then as a college student fifteen years later, when she moved to New York. She's a beautiful ship, it was an honor to encounter her.
70's tech was so cool!
The space shuttle, the Concord, crazy F1 cars, digital watches... what else a kid needs to boost his/her imagination?
Morgan Freeman has nothing on this chad’s voice
the old time american diet of bacon, red meat, 3 packs of non filtered cigarettes a day, a tumbler of scotch for lunch with a playful slap on his secretary’s bottom, and 3 gin martinis after a steak dinner.
@@boobam3648 that his the most accurate description. And i am indian btw. I just watched mad men and it really matches
@@debadityasaha1684 Im Indian too what tribe?
@@boobam3648 , Ahh.
@@rockettony1014 he meant Indian as in the South Asian Country not the Native American.
It was one hell of a sight to see the shuttle on a 747 flying low overhead One of those holysht moments
I remember watching this on tv in my parents bedroom with my dad (Grumman engineer) taking pictures of the screen LOL
I had a terrible case of diarrhea when I watched this on CZcams for the first time. So thankful to be a part of this piece of aviation history and to even be mentioned in the same sentence with some of the best engineers of our generation.
Yeah but let's see them land back on that 747
Oh, they did...but NASA wiped the video tapes to re-use them. ;-)
Oh hell yeah
Gavin H really?
@@knowledgenuke6029 Seriously? I hope you were being silly when you asked that :)
Everyone knows it's the BBC who used to wipe their tapes to record something else.
No. That was the tape of the high defenition camera recording of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
This is just so absolutely incredible.
Memories.....the STS program still makes the hair on my arms stand straight up. RIP to all of the pioneers that never gave up on the STS for all mankind. You will live forever.
“The wire is replaced” is the best line in this video.
why
bc hes so brutal about it
Lovely look back , crazy to think how far weve progressed since then .I thought that the wanted to launch the shuttle from the planes back when I first saw this back before the first proper launch in 81 .
The most impressive aspect of the 747s entire career.
@Bob Loblaw I think he actually had to prove it with a rc plane as well
Yes they did, if you look on the NASA johnson CZcams on the shuttle carrier aircraft video they show it at around 3 minutes
I feel like this guys voice would be used in a commercial convincing me to buy a Ford truck.
It still amazes me what human ingenuity and collaboration can achieve.
16:58 Was absolutely incredible, you've got all this constant audio coordination relaying the information between the team members whilst multiple F-5's flank the shuttle as its landing lol.
Sorry but those are t38
@@jonasherrmann8043 thanks for the correction!
I was there that day they rolled this through Lancaster from Palmdale to Edwards. So amazing.
Lucky SOB. 😁
I did make it to Edwards for one of the landings
I had the best view on Earth sitting on our wall that backed up to 10th St East. We lived between J and Lancaster Blvd. It rolled close enough to spit on. We didn't. Lol.
Toured the Enterprise at New Orleans World's Fair, watched the first shuttle launches in my teens, getting up early to see many. Loving the Space X etc advances going on now. Cool vid
They had such lofty dreams for it, and it is remembered as the thing that set the space program back the most in the past 50 years.
To be fair, it's also the most notable thing to happen in the space program in the past 50 years, excluding the ISS it helped build.
It was flawed for sure. 2% chance of smoking it every time it went up were not great odds. But I still think the programme was a success overall and it was the tool for many great accomplishments.
@@colorupro That's because the last 50 years was a dry spell for the space program. Thanks to the shuttle.
my second grade teachers husband was an engineer on the shuttles in the 70's we got a bunch of in school demos of the shuttle being built. He used to bring in tiles and all sorts of cool stuff
That's awesome. My high school journalism teacher was an alternate for the Teacher in Space program, and always started each semester with a talk about everything he experienced there.
i love this video. I miss our country back before everything became politicized.
It was originally planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day,
September 17, 1976.
Fans of Star Trek asked US President Gerald Ford,
through a letter-writing campaign,
to name the orbiter after the television show's fictional starship,
the USS Enterprise.
White House advisors cited "hundreds of thousands of letters" from Trekkies,
“one of the most dedicated constituencies in the country",
as the reason for giving the shuttle that name instead.
Good thing Star Wars hadn't come out yet, it would have ended up being named the Death Star.
Enterprise is a way cooler name than Constitution, and still carries on a historical name preceded by several naval ships.
Actually, NCC-1701 USS Enterprise (no bloody A,B,C or D) was .... Constitution class ;)
Piotr Dudała
I was referring to the Shuttle itself but if you are observing that there would still be a connection to the
TOS era craft that’s fine most people wouldn’t get it.
I understand that to you there is only the “original”
Constitution-Class ship but few people would have made that connection if it had gone that way.
People so prone to argue the inane but I will simply make the observation that the OV-101 was the only Shuttle that never actually made it to Space and that “Kirk” (Shatner) actually says that he has a fear of flying and avoids it when he can.
As for myself,
I have a passing interest in trivia but a much more pronounced interest in reality.
It always boggles my mind how far behind computer technology was back then, but yet they accomplished such great feats as engineers and scientists.
👍💯. I sure hope our schools are going to be able to put out such talent in this day and time (2020s). Kids having to learn all the crazy stuff in schools these days, I wonder if STEM is going to really be a thing that is going to work.
100% correct in fact its worse than you think , its now a proven scientific fact that intelligence has gone down hill, not kidding the new gens are not as bright, its not their fault obviously its just the circumstances they were born and brought up into sadly.
Great film. Old classic.
I was at first landing. Filmed it. I was 12. Later, I worked at Dryden in my 20’s. I also worked on Endeavor final assembly in Palmdale.
David Kepke are you serious ?
747 is my absolute favorite plane, with a Corsair coming in a close second. Flying coast to coast on a 747 is a pleasure. Those were the days!
Amazes me how that jumbo can even fly with this weight on top of it.
"Each shuttle designed for over 100 flights".
5 vehicles made a total of 135 flights. Discovery made the most: 39.
marmaly Discovery - 39 flights, Atlantis - 33, Columbia - 28, Endeavour - 25 and Challenger - 10.
@MrCloudseeker They were. Even at the end we were getting 2-3 flights/year. From Feb 2010(STS-130 Endeavour) until retirement when STS-135 Atlantis landed on July 21st 2011, there were a total of 6 flights. Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour all flew twice in that 17 month period. Surprisingly during the 1st Return To Flight(RTF) effort following the Challenger disaster, NASA was still manifested for 20+ missions per year. This was of course highly optimistic.
NASA intended for the shuttle to eventually fly as regularly as a commercial airliner. The goal was to fly twice per week.
marmaly overall, very foolish vision and design
marmaly Rest In Peace Columbia and Challenger, though...
I remember seeing this on live TV
Awesome video!!! Thank you.. The narration is superb!!!
This is the America we need back. Everyone used to watch these launches. They were national news. Gave everyone a sense of pride and hope for the future.
My grandfather helped build that plane that carried the orbiter He died back in 2012
I love the documentaries from that era. The new documentaries suck! Discovery channel used to be great in the late 90’s but it is horrible now :/
Merry Christmas history channel sucks too.. used to be great
Frits Felix too much reality tv bullshit!!! Remember Discovery Sunday? Wings? Thrills, Chills and Thrills? Those were great then this reality bullshit came along and ruined every great channel it touched.
ok boomer
@@jojodroid31 poor widdle zoomer will never know what good tv was. a shame
Sorry to say but”how it made”it suck .they only put camera’s on factory and insert narrator✌🏻☮️
I was 10 years old when this occurred. I watched it on the tv. Damn, I feel old!
I remember the day. I got off work to go home and watch the flight on tv. My boss knew I loved this program. He even let me off work to watch the first taxi tests. I remember all of this. Then sadly my first sight of the Shuttle was the launch of Challenger on that cold January 28th 1986. I was there, I witnessed it. So sad.
So cool to see a video of vehicles that I've been aboard. I flew with Gordon Fullerton on the KC-135.
I appreciated the views of the control panel.
I have the movie this is from on VHS! Love this so much!
I was just a kid when all this was happening. What a proud great time to be an American. I miss those days.
This is great, thanks for uploading it.
I still have a poster of this in flight from 35 years ago.
Just wow! on the computers being utilized on that era. Amazing American engineering!
I eagerly followed each step of the testing back then. I was lucky that they had TV coverage at the base I was on in Texas to see the debut flight of the shuttle.
I used to live 45 mins south of KSC, always enjoyed the BOOM BOOM when they returned, if they came in south to north it'd shake the house, wake the dog and occasionally set off car alarms, I was usually watching the NASA ch and expecting it. I miss that. Since we get a lotta storm here in summer we get used to thunder but thunder and a launch have dif low pitch rolling sounds you learn to recognize, a launch is a smoother slow rolling sound, little dif pitch. This vid was great, thanks !
I also got to hear the sonic boom quite often. But instead of the orbiter's, it was from fighters in the Middle East in the early 70s. Then, about a decade later, half a world away from all that, in Rio, I was at work in an office building, and... BOOM BOOM. People got up from their desks looking at each other, wondering what they had heard. I immediately recognized the sound and said it was a sonic boom. Of course nobody believed me. "Sonic boom? Over Rio? You're nuts".
Then the evening news cleared the mystery: Brazilian Air force fighters were scrambled to escort a British Vulcan bomber that was on a low-fuel emergency due to a broken refueling probe on its way back to the UK from the Falklands conflict, and needed to divert to Rio. Indeed, the fighters had gone supersonic over the city.
That was the last time I heard a sonic boom.
Separation at
10:43
Parabéns caba tú é muito inteligente atrás de vc mim sinto um jumento
I just picture the smell of coffee and stale cigarettes in that NASA room. Old school baby!
As a member of the media, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Fitz Fulton and Gordon Fullerton during the 25th anniversary of the Enterprise test. Interesting that the name Enterprise conjures visions of space travel, yet the shuttle Enterprise was never meant to go into space. The 747 used was purchased from American Airlines for a rather cheap price.
I watched the 1st Enterprise landing in California live on my 13” b&w tv in my basement when I was 11 years old. We were all amazed.
On one of these Enterprise test flights--I was sitting on Trim pad 22, running a T-38A engine test run. And we had to hold for the two aircraft to taxi out to the runway--past our location. Wish I had a camera then--history in the making. But we set there so long--that we finally had to shut down--not enough fuel to taxi back to the parking area. So we got to watch the entire flight--from takeoff to the landing of the shuttle test aircraft. The Enterprise was built without any intention that it ever venture into space--simply a test article. But when the Challenger blew up--it was considered to update the systems--and use the Enterprise as a space vehicle--until it became clear--doing this would result in costs higher than building a new orbiter. So now--it resides as a museum piece in New York City aboard the Intrepid.
actually, it was planed that 001-Enterprise would be the 5th orbiter to launch until some genius said, "hey guys, you do remember we shocked this hard enough to simulate 100+ flights already, right?"
@@seancoate5695 Second orbiter actually. OV-101 was always planned as an actual space vehicle (hence the "OV" designation).
After the vib tests at MFSC, OV-101 was to return to Palmdale and be outfitted with the missing space systems and then delivered to KSC for first flight processing.
This never happened due the fact it wss the first orbiter and had serious weight problems. So the decision was made to convert the Structural Test Article-099 (STA-099) into the second orbiter making it OV-099 (Challenger). OV-099 was much lighter than OV-101 was increasing the payload mass to orbit capability.
The fifth orbiter, OV-105 (Endeavour) didn't come along until after the loss of OV-099 as a replacement constructed from a set of structural spares contracted for during the final assembly of the two last orbiters (OV-103 Discovery and OV-104 Atlantis).
Great space program. Fantastic ship. Back when we had true ambition.
The Shuttle was incapable of anything but low earth orbit. It was an overly complicated and expensive space truck that failed to be cheap or rapidly reusable. They accomplished a lot with it, but many of the same tasks could have been done with a heavy lift rocket and crew capsule.
We still have ambition. If we could only get the funds
@@davidking1460 NASA is getting $24 billion this year. Funding isn't their problem.
10 billion goes to the ISS, 10 Billion goes to JPL, Marshall, KSC, Wallop Island ect, 9 Billion to Artemis
@@davidking1460
Exactly. It doesn't cost SpaceX $2 billion to launch a rocket because they don't have 6000 employees hanging out at Marshall, many of them engaged in make work activities. And Ames, and Glenn, and Langley, and Stennis, and Goddard, and...
I remember watching live that test of Enterprise. I was worried that the shuttle would hit the tail of the 747, and was relieved that it did not. I had forgotten that Gordon Fullerton was on this test. I remember him as Capcom in Houston during the one of the Moon walks on Apollo 17.
I can remember back In the late seventies In Saint Louis Missouri washing the orbiter ride piggyback on A747 just amazing I didn't even know what I was witnessing back then I was so young
Pretty cool stuff! 5 computers on board! Less than a smart phone today!
I was a young boy when the first shuttle took off. What an amazing piece of technology and achievement for NASA and America. Without the Shuttle the ISS would not be possible. A turning point for all of Civilization and the pre-cursor to the colonization of Space.
I turned 2 on this day! Totally watched the space shuttle program my whole life! Just visited the Kennedy Space Center over the holidays.
The brackets on the 747 that the shuttle was bolted to had, "Black side down" written near them.
Real USA, real tech, real courage, NO Chinese parts
amen brother
Real American casual racism!
What are you talking about? NASA hasn't changed this. JWST for instance is built by NASA, ESA and CSA and will be carried to space by the Ariane 5, an ESA rocket developed by France and Germany (one of the most reliable rockets in the world btw, Long March is unreliable in comparison).
2 real wipeouts.
@@sailingaeolus leave where?
13:55 - What a smooth landing ! Grandma didn't even spill her tea ! 😂
Damn ! Some of the best stuff happened when there was no HD ! 😭
Artemis is the lone hope for aviation enthusiasts ...
Kind of hard for Artemis to do anything cooler than Falcon Heavy landing 3 boosters.
@@krtwood hahahahahaha saying that trash here --------your about to die here .................best go back to elon son before you wake up a few sleeping giants who know their shit OK .
I watched a Shuttle launch from KSC and always wanted to witness a landing. Sadly, I never got the chance. This film more than makes up for that!
wow 1977 you came a long way baby !!
I wish Enterprise had made it to space.
Fascinating!
I was working at Marana Air Center in Arizona in 1996 when the shuttle transport did a low pass over the airfield. Everyone was outside to watch as it flew by at about 500 feet on its way to Florida. One helluva sight.
I remember watching this live when I was a kid. My grandmother worked for Moog Inc. in Elma, NY. who manufactured servo actuators for shuttle.
A wonder of science, I've been to Cape Canaveral and it was a trip.
I was 7 and oblivious to all this back then!!! Must have been amazing to see all that piggyback stuff!
KRAZEEIZATION I was 12/13 in 83 and living in Ohio. Seen the piggy back over the corn fields near my dad's house. Just a couple thousand feet off the ground. Awesome sight to see...
This is fascinating thank you for this
I've always wondered why Enterprise was never refit and flown into space. Also, William Shatner should've been made honorary captain on her maiden flight into space.
👍💯
Beautiful. First ever space ship that bears the name “Enterprise”. Simply magnificent.
SCOTTY: N-C-C-1-7-0-1! No bloody A, B, C or D !
Doctor McCoy: “I’m a doctor not a space shuttle pilot”
@@kg4boj or E, or Jonny Archer's NX-01, or F for that matter although I do think quite highly of Captain Va'Kel Shon, seeing as how that fella is the first Andorian to command an Enterprise!
When the shuttle separates, since it has no forward thrust of its own I am surprised it doesn't run into the vertical stabilizer of the 747.
I imagine the same feeling of jumping off a moving vehicle .. There's that forward pull .. cant remember what its called in physics ..
I think the 747 pitches down and the Shuttle pitches up immediately after separation for that reason. Also they are at the same airspeed at separation and airspeed does not dissipate that fast even with no thrust. Just guessing.
@@Ant0417 You are correct.
Inertia , Newton is smiling in his grave
The 747 is in a shallow dive to begin with. I imagine he increased his dive maybe dropped slats and spoliers a bit? Do separation from a good enough airspeed for the shuttle to exchange what he has for altitude.
I wonder about wake turbulence. Eventually that shuttle has to come back down and the 747 is in front and below.
Watching this in 1977, one could easily imagine that by 2017 we would all be going to space regularly, privately and cheaply - open for anyone with a license to fly.
Its truly sad to see how far we have NOT come in 40 years. The end of the SST program just reinforces this. We have been held back with regards to transportation technology.
This is great footage. I always found it amusing that so much effort was put forth to name this ship after the Star Trek space ship Enterprise and yet this one never actually went to space.