The NASA Space Shuttle came to Stansted on Boeing 757-100

Check more pictures:

at Stansted from: alondoninheritance.com

at Fairford from: gloucestershirelive.co.uk

On Saturday 5th June 1982 the NASA Space Shuttle arrived at Stansted Airport, UK on top of its carrier aircraft, a modified Boing 747-400.

The "Enterprise" Space Shuttle was on a promotional tour of Europe, starting with a landings at Fairford, UK, followed by trips to the Paris Air Show and displays other European countries.

The tour arrival dates were:

24 May 1983 Paris, France
1 June 1983 Rome, Italy
2 June 1983 Paris, France
5 June 1983 Stansted, London, England

This "Enterprise" Space Shuttle orbiter was used for atmospheric free-flight test purposes and never went into space.

There were 5 free flights where the Shuttle was detached from the carrier 747 and then carried out approach and landing tests. These were on 12, 13, 23 Sept 1977 and 12, 26 Oct 1977. The pairs of astronauts commanding and piloting were CDR Joseph Engle and PLT Richard Truly plus, CDR Fred Haise and PLT Gordon Fullerton.

The promotional tour ended on Monday 7th June when the combination left Stansted and set off back to the USA with low flight displays over Birmingham, Manchester and Prestwick on the way.

The visit to Stansted was well publicised and I stood speaking to hundreds of cars drivers and handing out leaflets at the entrance. The total visitors over 2 days was reported to have been about 200,000 people. I got quite exhausted speaking to the drivers or passengers of the hundreds of cars in the slow moving queues.

Stansted was a quiet airport in those days with few flights and you could just drive in and park on the grass and walk up to the aircraft.

At the time it had been intended to use the Space Shuttle to launch some INTELSAT satellites. As it turned out, the use made of the Space Shuttle was the reboost an INTELSAT 6 satellite whose launch on 14 March 1990 was only partially successful. The upper stage of the Titan launch vehicle for the INTELSAT 6 satellite had failed to insert the satellite into its geostationary transfer orbit, leaving the satellite in a low earth orbit not too different from the Space Shuttle's normal orbit. After drifting for two years a rescue plan was ready an with a bit of juggling the INTELSAT 6 satellite orbit was adjusted to match the 227.85 statute miles orbit height of the "Endeavor" Space Shuttle (on its first flight STS-49 7-16 May 1992). CDR Dan Brandenstein, PLT Kevin Chilton. EVAs by Rick Hieb, Pierre Thuot, Kathy Thornton, Tom Akers.

Image: from Intelsat/NASA video Youtube

Trying to catch the INTELSAT 6 was a big problem. The long shuttle manipulator arm was unable to lock on as the satellite very slowly drifted nearby and wobbled about a little. An astronaut tried on his own with the capture probe but that failed also. Finally, capture was done by hand with 3 astronauts standing at 120 deg spacing, and reaching up to pull the satellite down for attachment to a large IUS solid rocket motor. The three man spacewalk was a first, as was the long duration - over 8 hours!

The combination of INTELSAT 6 and the IUS was then gently deployed and once if had drifted far enough away the IUS was fired to send the INTELSAT 6 into wanted geostationary transfer orbit. It was a good satellite, operating for a further 23 years.

Read more about the Enterprise and other Orbiters here: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/supporting_shuttle_dryden.pdf

Update 5 Dec 2024: I need your help to help with questions submitted by a recent visitor to this page:

Did John Young come to Stansted ? What astronauts or NASA staff accompanied the tour ? Who gave any press presentations or meet with the public ?

Did anyone sit in the Shuttle seats during the transport flights on top of the 747 ?

If you know anything, please say. Additional other comments, memories, stories etc are most welcome for addition to this page. email me: eric@satsig.net. Many thanks.

Page new 28 Nov 2024, amended 6 Dec 2024.