The NASA Space Shuttle Enterprise - Episode 50

It was the moment in the 1970s that Star Trek became a cultural phenomenon.  NASA's first space shuttle was originally called Constitution. But President Gerald Ford renamed it Enterprise in 1976 to honor the show, its fans and its impact on our society.

Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto describe the development of the shuttle and how it came to be named Enterprise.

The idea of a reusable spacecraft was first described by NAZI scientists during World War II.  One of them, Werner von Braun, would work for NASA after the war and described the very process by which man would go to space.  It involved a reusable vehicle.

After reaching the moon in 1969, President Nixon ordered NASA to begin working on the shuttle program and to make sure its focus was tightly defined: Orbital experiments and the eventual construction of a space station.

Construction on the first vehicle began in 1974, and as news of its completion reached the public, two Star Trek fans had the idea to get it named Enterprise.  They contacted Bjo and John Trimble who had started the 1968 letter writing campaign that got Star Trek a third season.  With their know-how, a new campaign was put into action.

NASA and the White House received between 400,000 and 500,000 letters asking for the first shuttle to be named Enterprise and President Gerald Ford agreed.

But that's not the full story.  Listen to this week's episode to hear all the details.