editoon@bucc2.UUCP (05/15/89)
The space shuttle Enterprise is the prototype for all space shuttles. It was built in 1976 for landing tests to see how well the space shuttles would land on conventional runways, as well as how well it descends through the air like a glider. Currently, it is used to determine how the shuttle fits, attached to its external fuel tank and SRB's, on the new shuttle launch pad at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. The Enterprise's on-board technology is not sufficient for a space flight without a major overhaul, so there's little if any chance of its ever flying at all. Originally scheduled to be named simply OV 100, NASA renamed the orbiter "Enterprise" after a letter-writing campaign by hundreds of fans of the television series "Star Trek." The shuttle launch pad at Vandenburg is being repaired after a congressional study found the pad to be poorly designed.