List of Shuttle Carrier Aircraft flights

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft ferry flights generally originated at Edwards Air Force Base in California or on one occasion White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico following missions which land there, especially in the early days of the Space Shuttle program or when weather at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy Space Center prevents ending missions there. Flights generally ended at the SLF. A number of flights began at Armstrong Flight Research Center following delivery of the orbiter from Rockwell International to NASA from the nearby facilities in Palmdale, California.[1][2]

A 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft carrying the space shuttle Atlantis taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on 1 July 2007

Ferry Flights
Main article: Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
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  • November 15, 1977 Enterprise, ferry flight test started and ended at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 3 hours, 21 minutes
  • November 16, 1977 Enterprise, ferry flight test started and ended at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 4 hours, 17 minutes
  • November 17, 1977 Enterprise, ferry flight test started and ended at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 4 hours, 13 minutes
  • November 18, 1977 Enterprise, ferry flight test started and ended at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 3 hours, 37 minutes
  • December 9, 1977 Enterprise, approach and landing flight tests Armstrong Flight Research Center, lasted 3 hours, 37 minutes
  • March 10–13, 1978 Enterprise, ferry flight from Armstrong Flight Research Center to Marshall Space Flight Center (via Ellington Air Force Base) for vertical ground vibration tests at MSFC.
  • March 20–24, 1979 Columbia, ferry flight from Armstrong Flight Research Center to Kennedy Space Center (via Biggs Army Airfield El Paso, Kelly Air Force Base San Antonio, Eglin Air Force Base Florida)
  • April 10, 1979 Enterprise, ferry flight from Marshall Space Flight Center to Kennedy Space Center following vertical ground vibration tests at MSFC.
  • August 10-16, 1979 Enterprise transported from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Armstrong Flight Research Center in California (via Atlanta, St. Louis, Tulsa, Denver, Hill Air Force Base Utah, Vandenberg Air Force Base) following static tests at KSC
  • April 27–28, 1981 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Tinker Air Force Base Oklahoma) following landing of STS-1
  • November 24–25, 1981 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Bergstrom Air Force Base Austin, Texas) following landing of STS-2
  • April 6, 1982 Columbia, ferry flight from White Sands Space Harbor to Kennedy Space Center (via Barksdale Air Force Base Louisiana) following landing of STS-3
  • July 4–5, 1982 Challenger, ferry flight from Armstrong Flight Research Center to Kennedy Space Center (via Ellington Air Force Base Houston Texas) <http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/>
  • July 14–15, 1982 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Dyess Air Force Base Abilene Texas) following landing of STS-4
  • July 4–5, 1982 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Kelly Air Force Base) following STS-5
  • April 14–16, 1983 Challenger, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Kelly Air Force Base following STS-6
Spectators observe the arrival of the Space Shuttle Enterprise and its modified 747 transport aircraft at Cologne Bonn Airport, May 20, 1983.
  • May 16-June 12, 1983 Enterprise, tour of the United States, Canada and Europe. From Edwards Air Force Base to Peterson Air Force Base, McConnell Air Force Base, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, CFB Goose Bay, Keflavik Naval Air Station, RAF Fairford (20 May), Cologne Bonn Airport, Paris Air Show (arrived 24 May), Ciampino Airport, Stansted Airport, Ottawa International Airport, Scott Air Force Base and Sheppard Air Force Base.[3][4]
  • June 28–29, 1983 Challenger, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Kelly Air Force Base) following STS-7
  • September 9, 1983 Challenger, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Sheppard Air Force Base Wichita Falls, Texas) following STS-8
  • November 6–9, 1983 Discovery, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Vandenberg Air Force Base California, Carswell Air Force Base)
  • December 14–15, 1983 Columbia, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Biggs Army Airfield, Kelly Air Force Base, Eglin Air Force Base Florida) following STS-9
  • January 26–27, 1984 Columbia, ferry flight from Kennedy Space Center to Edwards Air Force Base (via Kelly Air Force Base and Eglin Air Force Base) for STS-17 modifications at Palmdale.
  • March 22–29, 1984 Enterprise, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Brookley Air Force Base (via Vandenberg Air Force Base) for overland and barge transport to the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition.
  • April 17–18, 1984 Challenger, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Kelly Air Force Base) following STS-41-C
  • September 9–10, 1984 Discovery, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center, via Altus Air Force Base Oklahoma
  • November 10–13, 1984 Enterprise, ferry flight from Brookley Air Force Base to Edwards Air Force Base to (via Kansas City) following the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition.
  • November 10–13, 1984 Enterprise, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Vandenberg Air Force Base
  • October 8-10, 1994 Columbia, ferry flight from Kennedy Space Center to Edwards Air Force Base (via Huntsville International Airport, Alabama and Ellington Field).[5]
  • April 11-12, 1996 Atlantis, ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base to Kennedy Space Center (via Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Tucson Arizona and Dyess Air Force Base Abilene Texas)[6]

Other transportation methods

Overland

Space shuttle orbiters were constructed in Palmdale, California and transported overland to the Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC), a distance of 36 miles. The shuttle carrier aircraft was not used for this initial leg of the journey but was used to transport the orbiters to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Additionally the orbiters were routinely towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility to the Orbiter Processing Facility after landing at the Kennedy Space Center either after missions or after removal from the SCA.[1]

Barge

[1]

References
  1. "STS Chronology". NASA.
  2. Mark, Hans (1987). The space station : a personal journey. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 156. ISBN 978-0822307273.
  3. Mark, Hans (1987). The Space Station: A Personal Journey. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. pp. 157–161. ISBN 978-0822307273.
  4. "Shuttle Enterprise begins international tour". www.upi.com. United Press International Inc. May 16, 1983. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  5. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/status/1994/status-19941010.html
  6. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/status/1996/status-19960412.html
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