The Space Shuttle Enterprise (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) 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. Originally, Enterprise had been intended to…
The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet 2+1⁄2 times its size, to reduce its seat cost by 30%. In 1965, Joe Sutter left the 737 development program to design the 747. In April 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 Boeing 747-100 aircraft, and…
Today we celebrate the end of an era. On the 31st of January 2023 the last produced Boing 747, a Boing 747-8 was delivered to Atlas Air. It was emblazoned with an image of Joe Sutter, the engineer who oversaw the 747’s original design team. Atlas CEO John Dietrich called the 747 the greatest…