The Space Shuttle Pathfinder (unofficial Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-098) is a Space Shuttle replica. It originated as STA-098, a test article constructed by NASA in 1977 out of wood and steel to test ground clearances and handling. It was purchased in the early 1980s by the America-Japan Society, Inc. which had it refurbished, named it, and placed it on display in the Great Space Shuttle Exhibition in Tokyo. It was named Pathfinder and displayed at the Great Space Shuttle Exposition in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984.
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
After the exhibit, Pathfinder returned to the United States. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama designed the display and built a stand. NASA provided MPTA-ET, an external tank which had been used for propulsion tests with the MPTA-098 engine testing rig, and two filament-wound Solid Rocket Booster casings, which had been designed for polar-orbit launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base. In May 1988, the 89-ton Pathfinder was installed atop the display at the Space & Rocket Center. The project began with the wings and tail section temporarily removed between January and February 2021. On February 8, the Pathfinder was lowered from its mounting points atop the fuel tank for the first time since May 5, 1988. The restoration project is proceeding alongside cooperation with the Marshall Space Flight Center, who will assist in assessing the structural integrity of the test shuttle.
On August 28, 2024, two cranes lifted the body of Pathfinder back into position on the shuttle stack in the first phase of a multi-day reassembly process. The reattachment of the wings and engine bells followed, completing the restoration of the display.
See also
- Space Shuttle Independence, a full-scale display mockup made according to shuttle blueprints
- Space Shuttle Inspiration, a pre-production engineering mockup
References
External links
- Orbiter Vehicles
- Shuttle Test Article Pathfinder