Jogging on a bright November morning

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Jogging on a bright November morning

Image by Ed Yourdon
I was walking south along the bridle path that circumnavigates the reservoir in Central Park; and the view here is basically south, with the CitiCorp building and various other New York City skyscrapers in the background. The reservoir is enclosed by a fence (presumably to keep people from falling in, or jumping in to swim, or perhaps even attempting to fish), and there’s a jogging trail that runs along the fence; so scenes like this are pretty common.

I hadn’t taken the sun into account when I took this picture; during this season, it’s pretty far south, and for whatever reason, it left the runner in pretty dark shadow. I tweaked it a bit, and hopefully didn’t distort the background too badly. I also replaced the grayish-white hazy sky with a bluish gradient fill, using Adobe Photoshop Elements …

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Note: this photo was published in a Feb 26, 2009 blog article titled "How to Intensify Your Running and Lose More Weight.." It was also published in a blog article (allegedly published on May 21, 2006 – which is difficult to imagine, since I didn’t take the picture until Nov 21, 2008) entitled "Burn Twice as Many Calories Running." It was also published in an April 14, 2009 blog titled "Find Our How Far You Run." And it was used in a May 8, 2009 Internet announcement proclaiming "Come cheer on the Lime team," for the Chase Corporate Challenge race on June 11, 2009. And it was published in a May 21, 2009 blog titled "Cardiovascular Fitness Means Healthier Heart ." I’ve also discovered that it was published in a Mar 20, 2009 blog titled "Running in the City, " (and then republished in the Mar 31, 2010 issue of the same blog ). More recently, it was published in a Jun 25, 2009 blog titled "How To… Stay Fit on the Road." I’ve also just discovered that it was published in the April 4, 2009 issue of the Directory of New York City blog, in an article titled "Central Park Indulgence."

The photo was also published in a Jul 21, 2009 blog titled "How to Get Started Long-Distance Running." Also in a Jul 24, 2009 blog titled "City Dwellers Are Healthier." And it was published in a Jul 29, 2009 blog titled "Le jogging est-il mauvais pour la santé?.." (which, according to Google’s translation service, means something like "Is jogging bad for health?" Yeah, is it? Well, you’ll have to read the blog to find out!

More recently, it was published in a Dec 15, 2009 blog titled "Care to read more of my thoughts on fitness?" And it was published as an illustration in a Dec 17, 2009 blog titled "Eco-Beat, 12/17." It was also published in an undated (Dec 2009) Jog4Life blog titled "Beginner Week Three Marathon Training."

Moving into 2010, the photo was published in a Jan 2, 2010 blog titled "Save Money by Sticking to Your Resolutions." And it was published in a Jan 7, 2010 blog titled "Sightjogging: City Walking Tours on Speed." It was also published in a Feb 1, 2010 blog titled "Francis Collins, National Institutes of Health director, speaks on 5-year priorities," as well as a Feb 7, 2010 blog titled "Hold My Heart." And it was published in a Feb 25, 2010 blog titled "Physical exercise for a health" [sic]. And it was pubilshed as an illustration in a brief Mar 3, 2010 blog titled "What can you do with your high cholesterol." It was also published in an undated (mid-March 2010) blog titled "Ungewöhnliche Fitnessübungen ohne Geräte." And it was published in a Mar 16, 2010 blog titled "What Can Raise Your Blood Pressure?"

On April 1st, 2010, the photo was published in a blog titled "Staying Active." And on Apr 8, the photo was published in an blog titled "Write-up on wholesome residing." On Apr 11, 2010, it was published in a blog titled "Post on wholesome living," with a comment that said, "Above picture is a random extract from Flickr, writer of this blog do not claim ownership of this picture, visit Flickr for its owner." Gee, thanks for that enthusiastic citation! Meanwhile, the photo was published in an Apr 15, 2010 blog titled "Recomendaciones para prevenir la hipertensión." And it was published in an Apr 22, 2010 blog titled "New Experiment: Integrating Physical Activity Into the Daily Routine." It was also published in a Jul 14, 2010 blog titled "Running and Peaches." And it was published in a Jul 19, 2010 blog titled "Three Ways we Self-Sabotage." It was also published in a Jul 23, 2010 blog titled "wLe sightjogging : le tourisme en courant!" as well as a Jul 27, 2010 blog titled "En salud no es mejor tarde que nunca." And it was published in a Jul 28, 2010 blog titled "Los riesgos de practicar carrera en ciudad durante el verano."

Shortly after Labor Day and the beginning of the fall season in 2010, the photo was published in a Sep 10, 2010 blog titled "Le logiciel libre en entreprise expliqué par un communiqué de presse." It was also published in a Sep 20, 2010 blog titled "Get Fit for Fall." And it was published in a Sep 27, 2010 blog titled " Fitness events take focus off weight-loss frustration," but also with the title and notes from my original Flickr page. It was also published in an undated (early Oct 2010) blog titled "Be Heart Healthy With Home Remedies For High Cholesterol." And it was published in an undated (Oct 2010) blog titled "Cardio Workout Routines- Maintain A Cardio Exercise Routine And Lose Weight Efficiently." It was also published in an Oct 18, 2010 blog titled "Come prevenire i dolori alle articolazioni." And it was published in an undated (mid-Nov 2010) blog titled "Weight Loss Maintenance," as well as an undated (mid-Nov 2010) blog titled "Healthy Weight Loss: Exercises To Augment Your Efforts, Part 2." It was also published in a Nov 12, 2010 blog titled "Translation service: for any kind of language translations." And it was published in a Nov 19, 2010 Brazilian blog titled "Do que eu falo quando eu falo de natação." It was also published in a Nov 21, 2010 FeelBetter4Life blog, with the same title as the caption that I used on this Flickr page, as well as a Nov 21, 2010 blog titled "How many steps should I be walking each day for weight loss?" And it was published in a Nov 30, 2010 blog titled "Consejos controlar presion arterial." It was also published in a Dec 16, 2010 Lifehacker blog titled "Working Out Before Breakfast Is Better for Weight Loss," and it was published in a Dec 19, 2010 "Cool Weight Loss Programs That Work images blog, with the same title and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. I then found that it had also been published in a Dec 17, 2010 Vertical Jump Training blog and a Dec 26, 2010 Awesome Diet blog, with the same title and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. There was another undated (late Dec 2010) publication in a blog titled "Weight Loss Remedy is Diet."

Moving into 2011, the photo was published in a Jan 3, 2011 blog titled "Vertical Jump Workouts," as well as a Jan 4, 2011 blog titled "6 Faktor yang Dapat Meningkatkan Tekanan Darah." It was also published in an undated (early Jan 2011) "Weight Loss Helps" blog titled " The Pure Acai Berry Seeded fruit Weight Loss Program." And it was published in a Jan 12,2011 blog titled "Best Means To Burn Belly Fat Fast." It was also published in a Jan 13, 2 011 blog titled "Some of the Tips on How to Lose Weight Effectively," as well as an undated (mid-Jan 2011) blog titled "Right Attitude for Weight Loss." It was also published in a Jan 24, 2011 blog titled "The effect of weight on fertility, as well as a Jan 25, 2011 blog titled Perfect Acai Pure Organic Acai Berry (1 Bottle) Reviews , with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written here on this Flickr page. And it was published in a Jan 28, 2011 blog titled "Diets – the big, fat lies."

In February, it was also published in an undated (early Feb 2011) Dutch blog titled "Geef stress minder kans: vergroot uw weerbaarheid." And it was published in an undated (mid-Feb 2011) blog titled "State faces enforcement questions for air pollution-prone Fairbanks, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Feb 15, 2011 blog titled "Nice How To Lose Fat Fast photos." And it was published in a Mar 4, 2011 blog titled "what do you think of chitocal and acai berry diet pill?" It was also published in a Mar 14, 2011 Fasts to Lose Weight blog, with the same caption that I used on this Flickr page. And it was published in an Apr 16, 2011 blog titled "Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada – Spring Sprint ." It was also published in an Apr 18, 2011 blog titled "Heart Needs Work After Heart Attack: New Study Challenges the Notion That the Heart Must Rest." And it was published in an Apr 24, 2011 blog titled "Incorporación de ejercicios quema grasa en su vida diaria!", as well as an Apr 25, 2011 blog titled "FTC Cracks down on “fake” websites," with the same detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in a May 6, 2011 blog titled "c25k redux." And it was published in a May 21, 2011 blog titled "How To Reduce Your Weight Quickly." It was also published in a May 24, 2011 blog titled "The Most Effective Way To Lose Weight and Get In Shape!!" And it was published in a Jul 11, 2011 Forbes blog titled "Random Acts of Exercise: Why Little Movements Can Have Big Benefits." It was also published in an undated (late Jul 2011) Stresspages blog titled "Increase resilience." And it was published in an Aug 8, 2011 Cool New York pics blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had used on this Flickr page. It was published in an Aug 22, 2011 blog titled "Feelgood Fitness: 3 Great Cities for Jogging," as well as an Aug 24, 2011 Tolle Fitnessübungen Bilder blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. And it was published in a Sep 19, 2011 blog titled "Stuck in a Design Slump? Go Outside!." It was also published in an undated (early Oct 2011) blog titled "Realizing You Have Everything You Need." It was also published in an Oct 4, 2011 blog titled "Feel Better and Accomplish More: How to Make Your Routine Work With Your Bad Habits and Energy Levels." And it was published in an Oct 5, 2011 blog titled "Hey, That Hurt!" It was also published in an Oct 28, 2011 blog titled "25 Exceptional Photos of Runners, Races & Marathons." And it was published in a Nov 1, 2011 blog titled "Vancouver Personal Training | Enhance Your Mood With Fitness." It was also published in a Nov 27, 2011 Weight Loss and Sport blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page.

Moving into 2012, the photo was published in a Jan 6, 2012 Lifehacker blog titled "Why Placebos Work, and How You Can Use the Placebo Effect to Accomplish Your Goals." It was also published in an undated (early Jan 2012) blog titled "Thought Questions." It was also published in a Jan 16, 2012 Fitness Websites blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written here on this Flickr page. And it was published in an undated (mid-Mar 2012) blog titled "BioMio Mør okse." It was also published in an undated (early Apr 2012) blog titled "Allenamento per corer meglio." And it was published in a May 5, 2012 blog titled "Slow Jogging Just A Few Times A Week Can Add Years To Your Life." It was also published in a May 20, 2012 blog titled "Zacznij biegać – już teraz!" And it was published in a Jun 8, 2012 Step Exercise Equipment blog, with the same caption and detailed notes that I had written on this Flickr page. It was also published in a Jun 20, 2012 Samsung Lifeblog titled "작심365, 그 첫번째 – 다이어트." For some reason, the photo was also published in a Jun 24, 2012 blog titled "Whitecaps surpass 2011 win total with 1-0 victory over Colorado." It was also published in an undated (late Jun 2012) blog titled "20 Great Pictures of Central Park NYC."

Moving into the 2nd half of 2012, the photo was published in a Jul 5, 2012 blog titled "10 Good Reasons to Drink Coffee." And it was published in a Jul 26, 2012 blog with the bizarre titled of "Jogging on a bright November morning and Pure Raspberry Ketones in Evolution Slimmings Raspberry Ketone Plus+; Now off with Immediate Shipping." It was also published in an undated (mid-Aug 2012) "Fine Retirement" blog titled "Exercising With Varied Health Challenges." And it was published in an Oct 28, 2012 blog titled "What weight loss pill should I take that will work fast?" It was also published in a Nov 1, 2012 blog titled "どんなに忙しくても僕らがランニングをするべき７つの理由 ." And it was published in an undated (mid-Nov 2012) blog titled "What Is NRF2?" It was also published in an undated (late Nov 2012) blog titled "Travel: Escaping reality or trading up?"

Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a Jan 8, 2013 blog titled "Your Vision Will Drive You To Lose Belly Fat." It was also published in a Jan 16, 2013 blog titled "How to Exercise Your Willpower by Working Out," as well as a Jan 16, 2013 blog titled "What is a good diet pill to aid in the weight loss process that has minimal neg. side effects?" And it was published in a Jan 26, 2013 blog titled "Quick Workout of the Week: Washboard Abs Blast." It was also published in a Jan 30, 2013 blog titled "AYT USA: Judgey at the gym – the power of words." And it was published in an undated (early Feb 2013) blog titled "Le logiciel libre en entreprise expliqué par un communiqué de presse." It was also published in a Feb 19, 2013 blog titled "Couch to 5K: anyone want to join me?" And it was published in an undated (late Feb 2013) blog titled "Are there disadvantages of running?", as well as a Mar 5, 2013 blog titled " I am SO not doing a 365–BUT…" It was also published in an Apr 3, 2013 blog titled "#NPM2013: Prompt 3." And it was published in an Apr 22, 2013 blog titled "セルフマネジメントのレベルと欠かせないスキル 〜 自己組織化されたチームを作るためには," as well as a May 5, 2013 blog titled "【RUN】気分爽快！！早朝ランニングが最高に気持ちいい件！！." It was also published in a Jun 3, 2013 blog titled "カナダのアニメイベントに現れたコスプレイヤーがとんでもないことになってた," as well as a Jun 21, 2013 blog titled" When Is The Right Time To Lose Weight?" And it was published in an undated (late Jun 2013) blog titled "7 Tips to Keep Your Heart Healthy." It was also published in a Sep 4, 2013 blog titled "Running in the City." And it was published in an Oct 10, 2013 blog titled "Où faire du tourisme en footing?"

Moving into 2014, the photo was published in an undated (mid-Jan 2014) "RunKeeper" blog titled "はじめに." It was also published in a Feb 21, 2014 blog titled "Ways To Burn Fats Quick Could Make You Cash."

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Having seen this Photoshopped color version of this photograph, my instructor in a March 2009 street photography class suggested that I convert it to black-and-white to accentuate the vertical shapes of the fence behind the runner. I did so here on Flickr, using Apple’s Aperture program, and with a yellow filter applied to the initial image.

I think the result is interesting, and I’ll try to keep an open mind for a while before deciding whether I like it better than the color version. However, if you have strong opinions one way or the other, I’d enjoy hearing it; leave me Flickr-mail or email me at ed at yourdon dot com

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: North American P-51C, "Excalibur III", with tails of Concorde & Boeing 707 in background

Image by Chris Devers
Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | North American P-51C, "Excalibur III":

On May 29, 1951, Capt. Charles F. Blair flew Excalibur III from Norway across the North Pole to Alaska in a record-setting 10½ hours. Using a system of carefully plotted "sun lines" he developed, Blair was able to navigate with precision where conventional magnetic compasses often failed. Four months earlier, he had flown Excalibur III from New York to London in less than 8 hours, breaking the existing mark by over an hour.

Excalibur III first belonged to famed aviator A. Paul Mantz, who added extra fuel tanks for long-distance racing to this standard P-51C fighter. With it Mantz won the 1946 and 1947 Bendix air race and set a transcontinental speed record in 1947 when the airplane was named Blaze of Noon. Blair purchased it from Mantz in 1949 and renamed it Excalibur III, after the Sikorsky VS-44 flying boat he flew for American Export Airlines.

Gift of Pan American World Airways

Manufacturer:
North American Aircraft Company

Date:

1944

Country of Origin:

United States of America

Dimensions:

Wingspan: 11.3 m (37 ft)

Length: 9.8 m (32 ft 3 in)

Height: 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)

Weight, empty: 4,445 kg (9,800 lb)

Weight, gross: 5,052 kg (11,800 lb)

Top speed: 700 km/h (435 mph)

Materials:

Overall: Aluminum

Physical Description:

Single seat, single engine, low wing monoplane, World War II fighter modified for racing.

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Boeing 367-80 Jet Transport:

On July 15, 1954, a graceful, swept-winged aircraft, bedecked in brown and yellow paint and powered by four revolutionary new engines first took to the sky above Seattle. Built by the Boeing Aircraft Company, the 367-80, better known as the Dash 80, would come to revolutionize commercial air transportation when its developed version entered service as the famous Boeing 707, America’s first jet airliner.

In the early 1950s, Boeing had begun to study the possibility of creating a jet-powered military transport and tanker to complement the new generation of Boeing jet bombers entering service with the U.S. Air Force. When the Air Force showed no interest, Boeing invested million of its own capital to build a prototype jet transport in a daring gamble that the airlines and the Air Force would buy it once the aircraft had flown and proven itself. As Boeing had done with the B-17, it risked the company on one roll of the dice and won.

Boeing engineers had initially based the jet transport on studies of improved designs of the Model 367, better known to the public as the C-97 piston-engined transport and aerial tanker. By the time Boeing progressed to the 80th iteration, the design bore no resemblance to the C-97 but, for security reasons, Boeing decided to let the jet project be known as the 367-80.

Work proceeded quickly after the formal start of the project on May 20, 1952. The 367-80 mated a large cabin based on the dimensions of the C-97 with the 35-degree swept-wing design based on the wings of the B-47 and B-52 but considerably stiffer and incorporating a pronounced dihedral. The wings were mounted low on the fuselage and incorporated high-speed and low-speed ailerons as well as a sophisticated flap and spoiler system. Four Pratt & Whitney JT3 turbojet engines, each producing 10,000 pounds of thrust, were mounted on struts beneath the wings.

Upon the Dash 80′s first flight on July 15, 1954, (the 34th anniversary of the founding of the Boeing Company) Boeing clearly had a winner. Flying 100 miles per hour faster than the de Havilland Comet and significantly larger, the new Boeing had a maximum range of more than 3,500 miles. As hoped, the Air Force bought 29 examples of the design as a tanker/transport after they convinced Boeing to widen the design by 12 inches. Satisfied, the Air Force designated it the KC-135A. A total of 732 KC-135s were built.

Quickly Boeing turned its attention to selling the airline industry on this new jet transport. Clearly the industry was impressed with the capabilities of the prototype 707 but never more so than at the Gold Cup hydroplane races held on Lake Washington in Seattle, in August 1955. During the festivities surrounding this event, Boeing had gathered many airline representatives to enjoy the competition and witness a fly past of the new Dash 80. To the audience’s intense delight and Boeing’s profound shock, test pilot Alvin "Tex" Johnston barrel-rolled the Dash 80 over the lake in full view of thousands of astonished spectators. Johnston vividly displayed the superior strength and performance of this new jet, readily convincing the airline industry to buy this new airliner.

In searching for a market, Boeing found a ready customer in Pan American Airway’s president Juan Trippe. Trippe had been spending much of his time searching for a suitable jet airliner to enable his pioneering company to maintain its leadership in international air travel. Working with Boeing, Trippe overcame Boeing’s resistance to widening the Dash-80 design, now known as the 707, to seat six passengers in each seat row rather than five. Trippe did so by placing an order with Boeing for 20 707s but also ordering 25 of Douglas’s competing DC-8, which had yet to fly but could accommodate six-abreast seating. At Pan Am’s insistence, the 707 was made four inches wider than the Dash 80 so that it could carry 160 passengers six-abreast. The wider fuselage developed for the 707 became the standard design for all of Boeing’s subsequent narrow-body airliners.

Although the British de Havilland D.H. 106 Comet and the Soviet Tupolev Tu-104 entered service earlier, the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 were bigger, faster, had greater range, and were more profitable to fly. In October 1958 Pan American ushered the jet age into the United States when it opened international service with the Boeing 707 in October 1958. National Airlines inaugurated domestic jet service two months later using a 707-120 borrowed from Pan Am. American Airlines flew the first domestic 707 jet service with its own aircraft in January 1959. American set a new speed mark when it opened the first regularly-scheduled transcontinental jet service in 1959. Subsequent nonstop flights between New York and San Francisco took only 5 hours – 3 hours less than by the piston-engine DC-7. The one-way fare, including a surcharge for jet service, was 5.50, or 1 round trip. The flight was almost 40 percent faster and almost 25 percent cheaper than flying by piston-engine airliners. The consequent surge of traffic demand was substantial.

The 707 was originally designed for transcontinental or one-stop transatlantic range. But modified with extra fuel tanks and more efficient turbofan engines, the 707-300 Intercontinental series aircraft could fly nonstop across the Atlantic with full payload under any conditions. Boeing built 855 707s, of which 725 were bought by airlines worldwide.

Having launched the Boeing Company into the commercial jet age, the Dash 80 soldiered on as a highly successful experimental aircraft. Until its retirement in 1972, the Dash 80 tested numerous advanced systems, many of which were incorporated into later generations of jet transports. At one point, the Dash 80 carried three different engine types in its four nacelles. Serving as a test bed for the new 727, the Dash 80 was briefly equipped with a fifth engine mounted on the rear fuselage. Engineers also modified the wing in planform and contour to study the effects of different airfoil shapes. Numerous flap configurations were also fitted including a highly sophisticated system of "blown" flaps which redirected engine exhaust over the flaps to increase lift at low speeds. Fin height and horizontal stabilizer width was later increased and at one point, a special multiple wheel low pressure landing gear was fitted to test the feasibility of operating future heavy military transports from unprepared landing fields.

After a long and distinguished career, the Boeing 367-80 was finally retired and donated to the Smithsonian in 1972. At present, the aircraft is installated at the National Air and Space Museum’s new facility at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Gift of the Boeing Company

Manufacturer:
Boeing Aircraft Co.

Date:

1954

Country of Origin:

United States of America

Dimensions:

Height 19′ 2": Length 73′ 10": Wing Span 129′ 8": Weight 33,279 lbs.

Physical Description:

Prototype Boeing 707; yellow and brown.

• • • • •

Quoting Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Concorde, Fox Alpha, Air France:

The first supersonic airliner to enter service, the Concorde flew thousands of passengers across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound for over 25 years. Designed and built by Aérospatiale of France and the British Aviation Corporation, the graceful Concorde was a stunning technological achievement that could not overcome serious economic problems.

In 1976 Air France and British Airways jointly inaugurated Concorde service to destinations around the globe. Carrying up to 100 passengers in great comfort, the Concorde catered to first class passengers for whom speed was critical. It could cross the Atlantic in fewer than four hours – half the time of a conventional jet airliner. However its high operating costs resulted in very high fares that limited the number of passengers who could afford to fly it. These problems and a shrinking market eventually forced the reduction of service until all Concordes were retired in 2003.

In 1989, Air France signed a letter of agreement to donate a Concorde to the National Air and Space Museum upon the aircraft’s retirement. On June 12, 2003, Air France honored that agreement, donating Concorde F-BVFA to the Museum upon the completion of its last flight. This aircraft was the first Air France Concorde to open service to Rio de Janeiro, Washington, D.C., and New York and had flown 17,824 hours.

Gift of Air France.

Manufacturer:
Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale
British Aircraft Corporation

Dimensions:

Wingspan: 25.56 m (83 ft 10 in)

Length: 61.66 m (202 ft 3 in)

Height: 11.3 m (37 ft 1 in)

Weight, empty: 79,265 kg (174,750 lb)

Weight, gross: 181,435 kg (400,000 lb)

Top speed: 2,179 km/h (1350 mph)

Engine: Four Rolls-Royce/SNECMA Olympus 593 Mk 602, 17,259 kg (38,050 lb) thrust each

Manufacturer: Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale, Paris, France, and British Aircraft Corporation, London, United Kingdom

Physical Description:

Aircaft Serial Number: 205. Including four (4) engines, bearing respectively the serial number: CBE066, CBE062, CBE086 and CBE085.

Also included, aircraft plaque: "AIR FRANCE Lorsque viendra le jour d’exposer Concorde dans un musee, la Smithsonian Institution a dores et deja choisi, pour le Musee de l’Air et de l’Espace de Washington, un appariel portant le couleurs d’Air France."

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Space Shuttle Enterprise

Image by Chris Devers
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.

Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Space Shuttle Enterprise:

Manufacturer:
Rockwell International Corporation

Country of Origin:

United States of America

Dimensions:

Overall: 57 ft. tall x 122 ft. long x 78 ft. wing span, 150,000 lb.

(1737.36 x 3718.57 x 2377.44cm, 68039.6kg)

Materials:

Aluminum airframe and body with some fiberglass features; payload bay doors are graphite epoxy composite; thermal tiles are simulated (polyurethane foam) except for test samples of actual tiles and thermal blankets.

The first Space Shuttle orbiter, "Enterprise," is a full-scale test vehicle used for flights in the atmosphere and tests on the ground; it is not equipped for spaceflight. Although the airframe and flight control elements are like those of the Shuttles flown in space, this vehicle has no propulsion system and only simulated thermal tiles because these features were not needed for atmospheric and ground tests. "Enterprise" was rolled out at Rockwell International’s assembly facility in Palmdale, California, in 1976. In 1977, it entered service for a nine-month-long approach-and-landing test flight program. Thereafter it was used for vibration tests and fit checks at NASA centers, and it also appeared in the 1983 Paris Air Show and the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans. In 1985, NASA transferred "Enterprise" to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.

Transferred from National Aeronautics and Space Administration

• • •

Quoting from Wikipedia | Space Shuttle Enterprise:

The Space Shuttle Enterprise (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-101) was the first Space Shuttle orbiter. It was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform test flights in the atmosphere. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of spaceflight.

Originally, Enterprise had been intended to be refitted for orbital flight, which would have made it the second space shuttle to fly after Columbia. However, during the construction of Columbia, details of the final design changed, particularly with regard to the weight of the fuselage and wings. Refitting Enterprise for spaceflight would have involved dismantling the orbiter and returning the sections to subcontractors across the country. As this was an expensive proposition, it was determined to be less costly to build Challenger around a body frame (STA-099) that had been created as a test article. Similarly, Enterprise was considered for refit to replace Challenger after the latter was destroyed, but Endeavour was built from structural spares instead.

Service

Construction began on the first orbiter on June 4, 1974. Designated OV-101, it was originally planned to be named Constitution and unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. A write-in campaign by Trekkies to President Gerald Ford asked that the orbiter be named after the Starship Enterprise, featured on the television show Star Trek. Although Ford did not mention the campaign, the president—who during World War II had served on the aircraft carrier USS Monterey (CVL-26) that served with USS Enterprise (CV-6)—said that he was "partial to the name" and overrode NASA officials.

The design of OV-101 was not the same as that planned for OV-102, the first flight model; the tail was constructed differently, and it did not have the interfaces to mount OMS pods. A large number of subsystems—ranging from main engines to radar equipment—were not installed on this vehicle, but the capacity to add them in the future was retained. Instead of a thermal protection system, its surface was primarily fiberglass.

In mid-1976, the orbiter was used for ground vibration tests, allowing engineers to compare data from an actual flight vehicle with theoretical models.

On September 17, 1976, Enterprise was rolled out of Rockwell’s plant at Palmdale, California. In recognition of its fictional namesake, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and most of the principal cast of the original series of Star Trek were on hand at the dedication ceremony.

Approach and landing tests (ALT)

Main article: Approach and Landing Tests

On January 31, 1977, it was taken by road to Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, to begin operational testing.

While at NASA Dryden, Enterprise was used by NASA for a variety of ground and flight tests intended to validate aspects of the shuttle program. The initial nine-month testing period was referred to by the acronym ALT, for "Approach and Landing Test". These tests included a maiden "flight" on February 18, 1977 atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to measure structural loads and ground handling and braking characteristics of the mated system. Ground tests of all orbiter subsystems were carried out to verify functionality prior to atmospheric flight.

The mated Enterprise/SCA combination was then subjected to five test flights with Enterprise unmanned and unactivated. The purpose of these test flights was to measure the flight characteristics of the mated combination. These tests were followed with three test flights with Enterprise manned to test the shuttle flight control systems.

Enterprise underwent five free flights where the craft separated from the SCA and was landed under astronaut control. These tests verified the flight characteristics of the orbiter design and were carried out under several aerodynamic and weight configurations. On the fifth and final glider flight, pilot-induced oscillation problems were revealed, which had to be addressed before the first orbital launch occurred.

On August 12, 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise flew on its own for the first time.

Preparation for STS-1

Following the ALT program, Enterprise was ferried among several NASA facilities to configure the craft for vibration testing. In June 1979, it was mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters (known as a boilerplate configuration) and tested in a launch configuration at Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A.

Retirement

With the completion of critical testing, Enterprise was partially disassembled to allow certain components to be reused in other shuttles, then underwent an international tour visiting France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. states of California, Alabama, and Louisiana (during the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition). It was also used to fit-check the never-used shuttle launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, California. Finally, on November 18, 1985, Enterprise was ferried to Washington, D.C., where it became property of the Smithsonian Institution.

Post-Challenger

After the Challenger disaster, NASA considered using Enterprise as a replacement. However refitting the shuttle with all of the necessary equipment needed for it to be used in space was considered, but instead it was decided to use spares constructed at the same time as Discovery and Atlantis to build Endeavour.

Post-Columbia

In 2003, after the breakup of Columbia during re-entry, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board conducted tests at Southwest Research Institute, which used an air gun to shoot foam blocks of similar size, mass and speed to that which struck Columbia at a test structure which mechanically replicated the orbiter wing leading edge. They removed a fiberglass panel from Enterprise’s wing to perform analysis of the material and attached it to the test structure, then shot a foam block at it. While the panel was not broken as a result of the test, the impact was enough to permanently deform a seal. As the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panel on Columbia was 2.5 times weaker, this suggested that the RCC leading edge would have been shattered. Additional tests on the fiberglass were canceled in order not to risk damaging the test apparatus, and a panel from Discovery was tested to determine the effects of the foam on a similarly-aged RCC leading edge. On July 7, 2003, a foam impact test created a hole 41 cm by 42.5 cm (16.1 inches by 16.7 inches) in the protective RCC panel. The tests clearly demonstrated that a foam impact of the type Columbia sustained could seriously breach the protective RCC panels on the wing leading edge.

The board determined that the probable cause of the accident was that the foam impact caused a breach of a reinforced carbon-carbon panel along the leading edge of Columbia’s left wing, allowing hot gases generated during re-entry to enter the wing and cause structural collapse. This caused Columbia to spin out of control, breaking up with the loss of the entire crew.

Museum exhibit

Enterprise was stored at the Smithsonian’s hangar at Washington Dulles International Airport before it was restored and moved to the newly built Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum‘s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, where it has been the centerpiece of the space collection. On April 12, 2011, NASA announced that Space Shuttle Discovery, the most traveled orbiter in the fleet, will be added to the collection once the Shuttle fleet is retired. When that happens, Enterprise will be moved to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City, to a newly constructed hangar adjacent to the museum. In preparation for the anticipated relocation, engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft once again.

Jogging on a bright November morning