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NASA Unveils Enterprise, the First Space Shuttle

NASA Unveils Enterprise, the First Space Shuttle

Image: NASA

Machine-written summary, checked against the sources below

NASA unveiled its first space shuttle orbiter, OV-101, on Sept. 17, 1976, Constitution Day of the nation's bicentennial year. Originally planned to be named Constitution, the vehicle was renamed Enterprise after nearly 100,000 Star Trek fans wrote the White House urging the change.

Fifty years ago, on Sept. 17, 1976—Constitution Day of America’s bicentennial year—NASA unveiled its first space shuttle orbiter, OV-101, to the public. NASA had originally planned to name the vehicle Constitution, but a letter-writing campaign changed the agency’s plans. Nearly 100,000 fans of the Star Trek television series wrote the White House urging that the […]

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