Maiden Flight of Space Shuttle Enterprise

Date: February 18, 1977 • Location: Weehawken, United States

The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" on top of a Boeing 747.

Space Shuttle Enterprise is the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test flights after being launched from a modified Boeing 747. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield. As a result, it was not capable of spaceflight.