Can the shuttle Enterprise be made spaceworthy?
[With inputs from Henry Spencer, Dennis Jenkins, and Brian Thorn] Well, maybe, but don’t hold your breath waiting. Enterprise was to be the second spaceworthy Shuttle, after Columbia. It would have gone back to Palmdale to be completed for spaceflight after the 747 drop tests and after Columbia was completed. In the end, NASA and Rockwell decided to upgrade the structural test article (STA-099) instead, mainly because it offered greater payload performance than Enterprise. STA-099 became OV-099 Challenger, which is why Challenger’s OV number was out of sequence with the rest. NASA does periodically inspect Enterprise at Dulles since it is fairly frequently used for various tests, and the in-depth structural inspection conducted in 1996 found little seriously wrong with the vehicle from her exposure to the elements, etc. In fact, in several respects she has suffered less corrosion than some of the operational Orbiters. However, it would still be a MAJOR undertaking to make her flightwor
