Approach and Landing Tests - After ALT

After ALT

Following the end of the flight test program, Enterprise was taken for testing with the external tank and SRBs in full-up launch configuration, to test both the structural responses of the "stack" itself and the launch procedures prior to the entry into service and first launch of the first operational orbiter. These tests first saw Enterprise taken to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, where the complete stack subjected to vertical ground vibration tests, assessing the structural responses to a number of scenarios. Then, the orbiter was flown to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, to fit check the facilities at LC39 and the procedures to be used in launching the shuttle.