Boldly Going: A History of an American Space Station

[TimothyC]

Disposition of Shuttle Program Hardware​

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Chantilly, Virginia

• OV-102 Columbia
• SpaceLAB LM #1
• SPARTAN 201
• MMU #3
• Shuttle Radar Topology Mission Canister/Mast

California Science Center, Los Angeles, California

• OV-104 Atlantis
• SpaceHab Logistics Module
• ET-XX (Deferred Build LWT)
• Steel-Case SRBs

Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

• OV-105 Endeavour

National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio

• OV-099 Challenger
• IUS-XX (last unit built)
• Defense Support Program Satellite STA (mated to IUS)

U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama

• OV-098 Pathfinder
• ET-MPTA
• LRB MPTA (Tank & Pod)
• LRB STA (Tank) + LRB P/A Mockup
• MPTA-098

Downey Shuttle Park, Downey, California

• Inspiration (Rockwell Shuttle mockup, mostly wood, low fidelity)

Space Center Houston, Houston, Texas

• Independence (High-fidelity mockup, ex-Explorer) With Transport Tail
• NASA N905NA SCA
• ORBUS-21 cradle and mockup

Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington

• OV-101 Enterprise Vertical Stabilizer
• OV-200 Pete Conrad (On extended loan from NASA, preserved in an OPF-level clean room facility for reactivation and conversion to space-flight article if needed. Facility exists as a building inside of a building.)
• NASA N911NA SCA
• IUS - Mockup
• Shuttle Full Fuselage Trainer

Intrepid Air, Sea, & Space Museum, New York, New York

• OV-101 Enterprise Port Wing
• Crew Compartment Trainer #1

Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garden City, New York

• OV-101Enterprise Starboard Wing

Tulsa Air and Space Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma

• Crew Compartment Trainer #2

Johnson Space Center

• ET-STA - Conversion to training article
• ET-GVTA - Conversion to training article
• ET-ALTA - Conversion to training article

Note on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft:​

SCAs N905NA and N911NA are retired at the end of the Shuttle-I program, and are replaced with a pair of new-build 747-8Fs for OV-300 series operations (905 and 911 were -100 models, and despite low flight hours, would have a near-critical spare-part condition). OV-200 series moves would be conducted using a truss adapter on both the first two, and the second two SCAs. Depending on the program post 2025, these two SCAs may be the last 747s in service.
N976NA “Spirit of ‘76” is named after the Bicentennial
N977NA “Spirit of ‘77” is named after the Approach and Landing Tests

Notes on Other Aircraft​

The development of the OV-3XX series Shuttle-II necessitated the validation of new landing gear. To perform these tests NASA initially evaluated reactivation of the N810NA, the CV990A that was used for the original Space Shuttle. The aircraft was retired in the mid 1990s, and by the time of the Shuttle-II was no longer fit for service. As a result, NASA purchased a single DC-9-73 that was being retired from commercial service. This aircraft, the same model that was used by Ames and Dryden/Armstrong for Earth Science Work, received the designation of the earlier aircraft, and has been retained in service for further tests as well as supporting Earth Science work on an as-needed basis.

In the mid 1990s, with an expected increase in expected payloads, NASA's planned retirement of the N940NS results in the purchase from Airbus of both F-GEAI and F-GDSG. These aircraft are designated N941NA and N942NA. Components delivered from Europe to the US are often still flown on Airbus Belugas and Beluga-XL aircraft.

Final Note​

Late in the program (possibly after retirement of the OV-100 series?), there is a photo of both generations of SCA (in the background, with the first generation on the left and the second generation on the right), as well as OV-104 (on the left), OV-20X (in the center), and OV-30X (on the right) on the tarmac in California.


To our readers:

This post is the last of the author's notes that e of pi and I had prepared. We'd like to thank all of you for having joined us on this journey, and hope to see you again for future stories. Furthermore, special thanks and recognition to our artists AEB Digital (nixonshead), Dylan Semrau, Cass Gibson (norangepeal), & Discoslelge. I do hope they are remembered when the Turtledove awards are considered next year.

All the best,

Timothy "TJ" "Arnie Holmes" Cizadlo

 

[KAL_9000]

You forgot one final one.

Low Earth Orbit

• OV-101 Enterprise
• ET-007

 

[Shaun Jones]

As a man from Ohio who has been sore for years that Dayton never got a Shuttle, thank you for giving us Challenger.

 

[e of pi]

On behalf of @TimothyC and myself, thank you to everyone who voted for us to win the inaugural Best Spaceflight and Technology Turtledove Award, and to those who supported @NorangePeels and @nixonshead in their bids for Best Graphic as well--congratulations to @nixonshead for the honorable mention in that category. Thank you for all who nominated timelines and voted in the polls. To other writers, my hope is that this will be the first of many awards for the new category and that others will get their chance at recognition in years to come!

 

[RanulfC]

On behalf of @TimothyC and myself, thank you to everyone who voted for us to win the inaugural Best Spaceflight and Technology Turtledove Award, and to those who supported @NorangePeels and @nixonshead in their bids for Best Graphic as well--congratulations to @nixonshead for the honorable mention in that category. Thank you for all who nominated timelines and voted in the polls. To other writers, my hope is that this will be the first of many awards for the new category and that others will get their chance at recognition in years to come!

Well deserved though unfortunately you all have AGAIN side-tracked me with the burning need to re-read this TL, (and "Eyes" and "Kolyma's" oh what the heck ALL of them! ) which is going to take me a pleasurable FOREVER... Again....

Randy

 

[TimothyC]

As a man from Ohio who has been sore for years that Dayton never got a Shuttle, thank you for giving us Challenger.

Speaking as someone who is from the greater Dayton area, I truly understand the frustration.

Well deserved though unfortunately you all have AGAIN side-tracked me with the burning need to re-read this TL, (and "Eyes" and "Kolyma's" oh what the heck ALL of them! ) which is going to take me a pleasurable FOREVER... Again....

Randy

Thank you Randy. I would like to personally add my thanks to everyone who voted in the Best Spaceflight and Technology category, because while I am glad to have won it this year with e of pi, I will be even happier if there is the same category next year.