Boeing already had some experience with the orbiters, since they had modified a commercial 747 into the first shuttle carrier aircraft. Rockwell’s aerospace and defense unit would be acquired by Boeing in 1996, around the time they were working on the fourth orbiter, Atlantis. In 1972, Rockwell International received a $2.6 billion contract to build the first Space Shuttle orbiter.
![space shuttle orbiter space shuttle orbiter](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/88/215989444_1541b1dcf3_b.jpg)
(Note: That makes two Star Trek-inspired technologies in two Spacecraft of the Week stories.) Enterprise never went into space instead, it was used for testing. NASA had originally wanted to call it the Constitution, but Star Trek fans launched a write-in campaign that won them over. The first shuttle was named the Enterprise, after the spacecraft from Star Trek. Two other Space Shuttle components, the solid rocket boosters and external fuel tank, were jettisoned away from the orbiter vehicle before it reached orbit. The five fully operational orbiters flew 135 missions in total, launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver parts to the International Space Station, launch satellites, conduct science experiments, and launch the Hubble Space Telescope.
Space shuttle orbiter series#
A series of six were built, including the experimental Enterprise. In reality, the spaceplane is the Orbiter Vehicle, just one part of the three-part Space Shuttle system. It could land like a plane, too, coasting smoothly onto a runway. It is roughly the shape of an airplane, smaller than the 747 that transported it.
![space shuttle orbiter space shuttle orbiter](http://www.collectspace.com/images/news-031510b/003.jpg)
Many people know the streamlined craft commonly called the Space Shuttle by sight.