This week in Edwards flight test history

  • Published
  • 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  On Jan. 31, 1977, the first space shuttle orbiter, Enterprise, arrived. As many in the Antelope Valley witnessed, it was conveyed at 3 mph from Rockwell International’s assembly facility at Palmdale aboard a 90-wheel transporter. The unpowered version of the shuttle was housed at Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center in preparation for a series of ground, captive- and free-flight tests prior to the space launch program.