Xref: utzoo sci.space:22527 sci.space.shuttle:5918
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Shuttle Enterprise
Message-ID: <1990Jul31.165941.18647@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <307@wybbs.mi.org>
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 90 16:59:41 GMT

In article <307@wybbs.mi.org> kennii@wybbs.mi.org (Kenn Booth II) writes:
>Why was the Enterprise never launched into space?

Because by the time the matter came up, it was too far overweight and
underspec compared to the "production" orbiters.  Officially, at least,
the original intent was to refit it for spaceflight, but in the end it
was considered more practical to build another orbiter using the
structural-test airframe instead... which is why Enterprise has an OV
number in the "real orbiter" OV-10x sequence while Challenger was OV-099.

One hears tales that insiders gave up on the Enterprise refit very early,
but it definitely was the official plan for a while, despite some folks
nowadays who claim that Enterprise was never meant for spaceflight.
-- 
The 486 is to a modern CPU as a Jules  | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
Verne reprint is to a modern SF novel. |  henry@zoo.toronto.edu   utzoo!henry