rlb@RIACS.ARPA (04/14/84)
From: Bob Brown <rlb@RIACS.ARPA> **From the Ames Astrogram The Space Shuttle orbiter Enterprise, atop the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, began its move on March 22 from Ames Dryden to the Lousiana World Exposition. The 157,000 pound Enterprise, flown during the approach and landing tests in 1977 at Ames Dryden, will be displayed at the World's Fair from May 12 through November 11. The final leg of the 2,300 mile trip will be by barge from Mobile, Alabama, to the world's fair site on the New Orleans waterfront. The barge trip is the only viable method of transporting the DC-9 size orbiter to the New Orleans waterfront, since it is too large to transport by rail or road, particularly through the streets of New Orleans. The unusual constraints of the move allow NASA to test techniques and train personnel on methods for safely handling a Space Shuttle orbiter at sites other than Shuttle launch and landing facilities at Ames Dryden, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and Vandenburg Air Force Base on the California Coast. Permanent structures are normally used for mating and demating the orbiter from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The methods of handling and moving perfected and documented on this trip will be invaluable if an orbiter ever has to land at a contingency landing site in the future. The Enterprise is scheduled to arrive at the Lousiana World Exposition site on the New Orleans waterfront the afternoon of April 5. The transporter trailer will be offloaded and towed to a location in front of the U.S. Pavilion. There, cranes and ground support equipment will remove the Enterprise from the transporter and place the 122 foot long vehicle on its display location. At the conclusion of the fair, the Enterprise will be ferried back to Vandenberg AFB where it will be used for additional fit-and-function checks at the West Coast Shuttle launch facility. ----------