Crew 2

This crew later flew on STS-2

STS-2

STS-2 was a Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA, using the Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission launched on 12 November 1981. It was the second shuttle mission overall, and was also the second mission for Columbia...

.

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

In addition to the two assigned shuttle crews, who would alternate crewing the orbiter, a single flight crew was attached to the Boeing 747

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA uses to transport Space Shuttle orbiters...

 (SCA) for the entire program:

• SCA Crew:
  • Fitzhugh L. Fulton, Jr.
    Fitzhugh L. Fulton
    Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton Jr. is a retired civilian research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from August 1, 1966, until July 3, 1986, following 23 years of service as a pilot in the U.S...
    
     (Captain)
  • Thomas C. McMurty (Co-Pilot)
  • Louis E. Guidry, Jr. (Flight Engineer)
  • Victor W. Horton (Flight Engineer)

ALT

The ALT program was divided into three distinct phases. The first phase was designated as the "taxi-test" phase, which involved the SCA and orbiter in a mated formation conducting taxi tests at Edwards Air Force Base to verify the taxiing

Taxiing

Taxiing refers to the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or push-back where the aircraft is moved by a tug...

 characteristics of the aircraft while carrying the orbiter. These tests did not involve the orbiter in any way beyond it being mated to the aircraft, so consequently it remained powered down and uncrewed. A total of three taxi-tests were performed on February 15, 1977. Following this, the program moved into its next phase.

Captive flights

The captive flight phase of ALT saw the SCA/orbiter combination in flight as a test of the SCA's flying characteristics while mated to the orbiter, and as an initial test of the orbiter systems in flight. This was subdivided into two phases:

Captive - inert

There were a total of five captive-inert flights designed to test the flight and handling characteristics of the aircraft while it was mated to the orbiter. As with the taxi tests, this did not involve the orbiter beyond it being mated to the SCA, so it remained unpowered and uncrewed.

Captive - active

The captive-active flights were intended to determine the optimum profile required for Enterprise to separate from the SCA during the orbiter's free-flights. These were also intended to refine and test the orbiter crew procedures and to ensure the operational readiness of the orbiter's systems. For these three flights, although Enterprise remained mated to the SCA, it was powered and crewed.

Free-flight

The final phase of flight testing involved free-flights. These saw Enterprise mated to the SCA and carried to a launch height, before being jettisoned by the use of explosive bolts to glide to a landing on the runways at Edwards AFB. The intention of these flights was to test the flight characteristics of the orbiter itself, on a typical approach and landing profile from orbit.

There were a total of five free-flights between August and October; the first three saw Enterprise remain fitted with its aerodynamic tail cone, intended to reduce drag when mounted on the SCA during flight. The final two had the tail cone removed, with the orbiter in its full operational configuration, with dummy main engines

Space Shuttle main engine

The RS-25, otherwise known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine , is a reusable liquid-fuel rocket engine built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for the Space Shuttle, running on liquid hydrogen and oxygen. Each Space Shuttle was propelled by three SSMEs mated to one powerhead...

 and OMS pods. All flights had a huge spike on the nose of Enterprise. These five flights were to be the only time Enterprise flew alone.

After flying missions on Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia

Space Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...

 (STS-2

STS-2

STS-2 was a Space Shuttle mission conducted by NASA, using the Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission launched on 12 November 1981. It was the second shuttle mission overall, and was also the second mission for Columbia...

) and Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery

Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...

 (STS-51-I

STS-51-I

STS-51-I was the twentieth mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the sixth flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. During the mission, Discovery deployed three communications satellites into orbit...

), Engle reported that the flight and handling characteristics of the operational orbiters were similar to those of Enterprise, except that he had to fly a steeper profile with the prototype, as it was much lighter than the operational spacecraft.

Ferry flights

Following the free-flight tests, Enterprise was prepared for ferry flight tests, which were intended to ensure that the SCA/orbiter configuration was viable for flights of the duration between landing and launch sites.

After ALT

Following the end of the flight test program, Enterprise was taken for testing with the external tank

Space Shuttle external tank

A Space Shuttle External Tank is the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplies the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three Space Shuttle Main Engines in the orbiter...

 and SRB

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster

The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters were the pair of large solid rockets used by the United States' NASA Space Shuttle during the first two minutes of powered flight. Together they provided about 83% of liftoff thrust for the Space Shuttle. They were located on either side of the rusty or...

s in full-up launch configuration, to test both the structural responses of the "stack" itself and the launch procedures prior to the entry into service and first launch of the first operational orbiter. These tests first saw Enterprise taken to the Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Space Flight Center

The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...

 in Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, where the complete stack subjected to vertical ground vibration tests, assessing the structural responses to a number of scenarios. Then, the orbiter was flown to the Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center

The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...

 in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, to fit check the facilities at LC39

Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39

Launch Complex 39 is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the Apollo program, and later modified to support Space Shuttle operations. NASA began modifying LC-39 in 2007 to...

 and the procedures to be used in launching the shuttle.

List of ALT flights

Test flight	Date	Speed	Altitude	Crew	Duration	Comment
Taxi test #1	February 15, 1977	89 mph 143 kilometres (88.9 mi)/h	taxi	none	taxi	Concrete runway, tailcone on
Taxi test #2	February 15, 1977	140 mph 225 kilometres (139.8 mi)/h	taxi	none	taxi	Concrete runway, tailcone on
Taxi test #3	February 15, 1977	157 mph 253 kilometres (157.2 mi)/h	taxi	none	taxi	Concrete runway, tailcone on
Captive-inert flight #1	February 18, 1977	287 mph 462 kilometres (287.1 mi)/h	16,000 ft 4,877 m	none	2 h 5 min	Tailcone on, landed with 747
Captive-inert flight #2	February 22, 1977	328 mph 528 kilometres (328.1 mi)/h	22,600 ft 6,888 m	none	3 h 13 min	Tailcone on, landed with 747
Captive-inert flight #3	February 25, 1977	425 mph 684 kilometres (425 mi)/h	26,600 ft 8,108 m	none	2 h 28 min	Tailcone on, landed with 747
Captive-inert flight #4	February 28, 1977	425 mph 684 kilometres (425 mi)/h	28,565 ft 8,707 m	none	2 h 11 min	Tailcone on, landed with 747
Captive-inert flight #5	March 2, 1977	474 mph 763 kilometres (474.1 mi)/h	30,000 ft 9,144 m	none	1 h 39 min	Tailcone on, landed with 747
Captive-active flight #1	June 18, 1977	208 mph 335 kilometres (208.2 mi)/h	14,970 ft 4,563 m	Haise Fred Haise Fred Wallace Haise, Jr. is an engineer and former NASA astronaut. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Having flown on Apollo 13, Haise was to be the sixth human to walk on the Moon, but the mission did not land due to a failure aboard the spacecraft.-Early life and... , Fullerton	55 min 46 s	Tailcone on, landed with 747
Captive-active flight #2	June 28, 1977	310 mph 499 kilometres (310.1 mi)/h	22,030 ft 6,715 m	Engle, Truly	62 min 0 s	Tailcone on, landed with 747
Captive-active flight #3	July 26, 1977	311 mph 501 kilometres (311.3 mi)/h	30,292 ft 9,233 m	Haise Fred Haise Fred Wallace Haise, Jr. is an engineer and former NASA astronaut. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Having flown on Apollo 13, Haise was to be the sixth human to walk on the Moon, but the mission did not land due to a failure aboard the spacecraft.-Early life and... , Fullerton	59 min 53 s	Tailcone on, landed with 747
Free flight #1	August 12, 1977	310 mph 499 kilometres (310.1 mi)/h	24,100 ft 7,346 m	Haise Fred Haise Fred Wallace Haise, Jr. is an engineer and former NASA astronaut. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Having flown on Apollo 13, Haise was to be the sixth human to walk on the Moon, but the mission did not land due to a failure aboard the spacecraft.-Early life and... , Fullerton	5 min 21 s	Tailcone on, lakebed landing
Free flight #2	September 13, 1977	310 mph 499 kilometres (310.1 mi)/h	26,000 ft 7,925 m	Engle, Truly	5 min 28 s	Tailcone on, lakebed landing
Free flight #3	September 23, 1977	290 mph 467 kilometres (290.2 mi)/h	24,700 ft 7,529 m	Haise Fred Haise Fred Wallace Haise, Jr. is an engineer and former NASA astronaut. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Having flown on Apollo 13, Haise was to be the sixth human to walk on the Moon, but the mission did not land due to a failure aboard the spacecraft.-Early life and... , Fullerton	5 min 34 s	Tailcone on, lakebed landing
Free flight #4	October 12, 1977	278 mph 447 kilometres (277.8 mi)/h	22,400 ft 6,828 m	Engle, Truly	2 min 34 s	Tailcone off, lakebed landing
Free flight #5	October 26, 1977	283 mph 456 kilometres (283.3 mi)/h	19,000 ft 5,791 m	Haise Fred Haise Fred Wallace Haise, Jr. is an engineer and former NASA astronaut. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Having flown on Apollo 13, Haise was to be the sixth human to walk on the Moon, but the mission did not land due to a failure aboard the spacecraft.-Early life and... , Fullerton	2 min 1 s	Tailcone off, runway landing