All articles tagged with #space shuttle enterprise
The article traces Star Trek’s lasting influence on NASA, from Roddenberry’s early ties and Nichelle Nichols’s recruitment role to the 1976 Space Shuttle Enterprise being renamed after a Star Trek fan write-in, highlighting how Trek inspired real space professionals and promoted diversity—ending with a call to defend DEI programs and vote for Democratic candidates in upcoming elections.
In 1977, King Charles III met NASA's first space shuttle, Enterprise, and its four-astronaut crew at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California after the shuttle completed its fifth and final "free flight" in Earth's atmosphere. Enterprise was built to test the shuttle's design on test flights in Earth's atmosphere. The vehicle didn't have a functional heat shield or engines; it was carried aloft by NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, then dropped at altitude. Charles received a commemorative photo album and an original watercolor by space artist Robert McCall from NASA.