On September 17, 1976, NASA publicly unveiled its first space
shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdale, California.
Development of the aircraft-like spacecraft cost almost $10 billion
and took nearly a decade. In 1977, the Enterprise became the first
space shuttle to fly freely when it was lifted to a height of 25,000
feet by a Boeing 747 airplane and then released, gliding back to
Edwards Air Force Base on its own accord.
The space shuttle Enterprise rolled out of the Palmdale manufacturing facilities and was greeted by NASA
officials and cast members from the ‘Star Trek’ TV
series.
From left to right they are: NASA Administrator Dr.
James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley, who portrayed
Dr. "Bones" McCoy on the series; George Takei
(Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott); Nichelle Nichols
(Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); series
creator Gene Roddenberry; an unnamed NASA
official; and, Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov).
Place your comment