Search

for

Flat $9.99 US Shipping*	Cart Empty:	$0.00
	US Shipping:	$0.00
	Total:	$0.00

Code: DM-56183

Status: Sold out - Discontinued
We regret this item is no longer available for sale. Please see the product description for links to similar items we still have available.

Dragon Models Aerospace Program 56183
Diecast Model
NASA, OV-101 "Enterprise", First Free Flight August 12th, 1977, Space Shuttle w/Boeing 747

1:400 Scale     Length     Width
Rockwell Space Shuttle     3.75"     2.25"
Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft     7"     6"

The Space Shuttle Enterprise (OV-101) was the first Space Shuttle orbiter commissioned in 1976. It was a significant craft built for NASA used purely for atmospheric test flights and it never flew in space, but it was crucial to the Space Shuttle program. Enterprise was originally to be named Constitution. United States of America's President Gerald Ford requested that NASA change the name of it from Constitution to Enterprise in honor of original series - Star Trek mounted its effort to have the first Space Shuttle. This release includes a highly detailed "Enterprise OV-101" Orbiter model paired with a NASA Boeing 747 transport plane. The orbiter can be "piggybacked" on top of the 747, just like the real thing! This model also includes a stand for in-flight display.

Enterprise was used by NASA for a variety of ground and flight tests intended to validate aspects of the shuttle program. The initial nine-month testing period was referred to by the acronym ALT, for "Approach and Landing Test". The final phase of flight testing involved the free-flights. This would see 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. 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 up operational configuration, with dummy main engines and OMS pods. These five flights were to be the only time Enterprise flew alone.

Rockwell Space Shuttle

Designed as a re-usable spacecraft for orbital human spaceflight, the Space Shuttle first flew on April 12, 1981. This American spacecraft system has flown more than 130 times, undergoing a variety of missions from satellite launch to space science experiments and construction and repair of space stations. The system is comprised of an external tank, two solid rocket boosters and an orbiter vehicle, which carries the crew and payload. The shuttle stack launches vertically, and the orbiter returns to Earth horizontally at the end of each mission. The shuttle has more than 2.5 million parts, making it one of the most complex machines ever built.

Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

Designed to ferry the NASA Space Shuttle Orbiter from its landing site back to the launch facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) was first flown in 1976. Two SCAs were built by Boeing for NASA by extensively modifying an ex-American Airlines 747-100 and an ex-Japan Airlines 747-100SR. In addition to adding the orbiter mounting struts on top of the fuselage, the airframes were strengthened and stripped of passenger seating. Supplemental vertical stabilizers were also added to the tail to compensate for the blanking effect of the orbiter on the main vertical stabilizer during flight.

Dragon's 1:400 scale Space Shuttle has a diecast metal fuselage with plastic wings, rudder and cargo bay doors. Individual tile details surround the windscreen and are present on each of the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods. The main engine and OMS exhaust nozzles have been separately applied. Launch Configuration releases come with an external tank and the solid rocket boosters that feature separately applied motor nozzle extension.