On January 11, 1988, engineers began work on the fabrication and assembly of OV-105’s Forward Reaction Control System thruster pod. On December 22, OV-105’s distinctive and tell-tale Delta wings arrived on-dock at her Palmdale, California construction facility from the Grumman group in New York state. Mid-fuselage assembly began on Octofollowed on November 30 by the start of assembly of the vertical stabilizer. Two months later, on September 7, engineers began assembling the body-flap of OV-105 – with assembly beginning on her aft-fuselage on Sept.

Specifically, the contract to build NASA’s newest, and last, Space Shuttle orbiter was issued to Rockwell International on July 31, 1987. To this end, the start of structural assembly of OV-105’s Crew Module began on Februover five years before authorization to build OV-105 was issued. Taking advantage of structural spares created during the construction campaigns of OV-103/Discovery and OV-104/Atlantis, construction of NASA’s newest orbiter, known officially as OV-105 (Orbiter Vehicle 105), gained a significant time advantage by making use of these structural spares. This idea was quickly turned down, however, due to cost and time requirements.Įssentially, it was deemed cheaper and faster to simply build a new orbiter than to refit the Enterprise. However, before permission to construct a new orbiter was issued, serious consideration was given to refitting the test orbiter Enterprise (OV-101) and having her join the Shuttle fleet as an operational, space-worthy vehicle. OV-105 Endeavour: The Baby with Big Expectations and a Bold History:Ī little over one year after the loss of the sister she never knew, the United States Congress passed legislation officially authorizing the construction of new Space Shuttle orbiter to fill the manifest needs left in the wake of the 51L disaster.

And while the STS-51L/Challenger mission ended in disaster, from its devastating aftermath came the hope of a new beginning in the form a new and improved Space Shuttle orbiter – an orbiter that has performed some of the most vital and historical missions for humanity over the course of her 19-year, 25-mission career. The Space Shuttle Program was well underway by January 1986 – with preparations marching toward the launch of the 25th Space Shuttle mission, a mission to place a school teacher in Low Earth Orbit.

Space shuttle endeavour coin