Enterprise (space shuttle flying prototype) + Boeing 747 SCA (Shuttle Carrier Aircraft)

A bit of history: At the end of the 1960’s, during the time of the Apollo program and their flights to the moon, the big shots in the government and NASA were thinking about what would be the next step on space exploration.
So far, each time that an astronaut has gone to space had use a multi stage rocket and come back to earth in a bare bones capsule, which means that the whole rest of the rocket / space vehicle had been wasted (first rocket stage, second stage, etc).
NASA’s new idea was a vehicle that could be used multiple times: Take it to space, perform its mission up there, come back as a glider (a very heavy glider), be refurbished and have it ready for another mission. Eventually this concept would become the Space Shuttle and five of those vehicles would be built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis & Endeavour (the first two of those lost in accidents), plus a prototype for flights inside the earth’s atmosphere which is what I just finished: The Enterprise.

The idea of the Enterprise (named after a petition to the government by Star Trek fans) was a simplified flying version to test the aerodynamics of the concept. It flew a total of 5 times: Three with that tail cone and two without. It was launched from the back of a very modified Boeing 747.

An interesting fact: The Boeing 747 is known among many other reasons for being a gas guzzler. So, imagine now making it fly with another heavy vehicle on top… It’s said that for EACH 747’s LENGTH flown with the shuttle on top, the 747 would burn one gallon of fuel. Not exactly the fuel economy of a Honda Civic…

The first pilot of the Enterprise was the amazing astronaut and test pilot Fred Haise (on the left in the picture with the Enterprise behind), made famous for being part of the crew of Apollo 13 (yes, the one of “Houston, we have a problem”).