How NASA Learned To Fly The Space Shuttle Like A Glider 

"Enterprise had gone to places in the flight envelope that no Shuttle had gone before." Very smooth, Mr. Manley.

"Ah shit" Not what you wanna hear from your test pilot

It never fails to amaze me seeing the shuttle on top of a 747. It just looks like it shouldn't be possible. Brilliant engineering

Interesting that Shuttle's automated landing system took several iterations to get right. Makes it more amazing that the one flight of Buran was unmanned and landed successfully. I wonder what their development program looked like.

Test pilots are a different breed. Imagine joining a "digital fly by wire" NASA test program and being told "we're going to make your plane fly terrible in lots of different ways so we can figure out which ones are worst".

I once heard an air crash investigator say that "Oh shit!" was THE most frequent phrase heard on flight deck recorders just before impact. So those pilots DEFINITELY had their hands full with that shuttle at that point! And the guy with the "Let go of the stick Luke, use the Force!" advice needs a medal! Talk about calm under fire!

Amazing that the Shuttle would come down at a 20° (compared to 3° of an airliner) and yet be able to flare and hover like that over the runway and even need a parachute to timely complete rotation to the ground. Great coverage!

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="450">7:30</a> I was ten-year-old kid when my family and I showed up at Edwards Air Base in 1977 to witness the first-ever flight of Space Shuttler. So many people showed up to watch the event, and it took lot of us hours to drive out of the base to the highway. That is one of few things in my life that I would not forget. The other was watching Concorde taking off at DFW airport in 1979 at full throttle with afterburners (DFW was only one that allowed the full throttle due to sparse developments surrounding DFW).

Kind of smooth landing for a brick tbh...

If memory serves the first Flying Manhole Cover was both unmanned and extremely hypersonic.

I love how calm he was with that "ah shit" on the bad landing. It was like he dropped a pen rather than messed up the landing that could have ended worse than it did.

Having done a bunch of glider landings, that looked pretty darn good, particularly given the landing speed

I love that detail of the simulator using a control-slaved camera filming a model of the area and feeding the images back to the simulator. Analogue solutions like these are always ingenious and often overlooked.

You gotta love that AGC controlled F-8 with the DSKY hanging off to the side. I always have a chuckle with that.

I didn't realize how big the shuttle was until I saw it on top of a 747

I can only imagine what these early fly by wire systems felt like. After thousands of hours in traditional planes, my first A320 sim lesson was rough; I was constantly chasing the plane. My second flight was perfect after I really took home that "less is more" when flying those. In a normal plane, you're used to constantly working to keep the airplane where you want it, especially in slower flight; you learn to feel the plane and almost react before the plane even starts rolling left because of some turbulence. In FBW, and particularly the airbus, it's quite the opposite. You use the controls to tell the airplane where you want it to go. It's super easy to create PIO (pilot induced oscillation) if you're trying to fly it like a regular plane. This is partially because there's a bit of a lag between you and the flight controls. So what you perceive as the plane getting pushed in a left roll, the airplane already knows and is doing something and then it sees your input to roll right and it thinks, ok he wants to go right, so suddenly you're over to the right instead of level. Granted I am NOT a test pilot and I'm sure these guys knew quite well what to expect. But in a traditional plane that might have some aerodynamic quirk, you kind of learn the feel quickly and go, ok, that's what I'm dealing with. Where in FBW, you're left with the classic question: what is it doing now? Or why is it doing that?

"Flying manhole cover." That was a side-splitter! Well done, Scott.

I once spoke with a NASA astronaut. I asked him about the differences between piloting a military jet and the shuttle. He went over several differences. The most important difference, he explained, is that you only get ONE CHANCE to land the shuttle (even if something goes wrong). He said that this means that you're obviously making every effort to get it right -- but prepared for any number of possible issues.

The "forgotten shuttle", Pathfinder, was used to measure clearances and mounting brackets so that Enterprise wouldn't be damaged. Made of steel, fiberglass, and plywood, it didn't actually have a name until it was rebuilt as a display vehicle. It is currently on display at the Huntsville Space and Rocket center.

I worked the early days of the Space Shuttle program.....as I remember, Enterprise was intended fly to orbit, but during the time enterprise was being built it was discovered that the wings/tail were not strong enough to fly through the maximum dynamic pressure region of ascent flight. The Wings and Tail could not be made strong enough without costing a lot of payload to orbit capability, so Day of launch wind biasing was baselined. This required balloons to be launch several times prior to launch. The balloon data was sent to Rockwell in Downey, CA to run a flight simulation, and then structural loads to be estimated. These results was then briefed during the launch Go/No go decision meeting. I was also in the Downey control room during this last flight of Enterprise....I though he was going to stall....was not a pretty landing!

"For a brick, he flew pretty good" -sgt Johnson

I worked on the shuttle carriers. If memory is correct they had a turbulence problem with the horizontal stabilizer that caused a severe oscillation that left the 747 barely controllable. The fix was to put the vertical fins at the tips of the horizontal stabilizer. Took the oscillations right out. The shuttle carriers flew on Uncle Sams dime so they got JP-4 not JET-A. The first day of work the plane pulled in with this sweet smell and so unlike the airline aircraft I was used to. I love the smell of JP-4 in the morning.

Its enough that it lands.. coming from that high up! Don't judge it by its landing.

I worked on that simulator and the camera model. Lord that was many years ago. ISS simulator is simple by comparison. No flight controls. Now the Shuttle simulator is going in the Lonestar Flight Museum in Houston.

I met Fred Haise at Spacefest in 2016 and we talked for a long time. He was the nicest person you would ever want to meet. A perfect gentleman. He shared some great Apollo 13 memories.

That near tail-strike actually caught my breath in my throat.

I have never seen the footage of Enterprise attached to test rockets. That was the like a piece of space candy for me!

Fascinating history of Enterprise. Thank you.

So much respect for the unreal amount of math, engineering and good organisation to make all that work back then

This is a great example of why flight testing is so important to aircraft development. I'm always amazed at the amount of research you put in to these videos Scott. Great work as usual.

Given how fast that shuttle must be going when it touches down, I think it’s a great landing. I fly a C150 and if I’m even a tiny bit faster than my normal landing I’ll bounce too.

Growing up in the 70's and 80's we followed Apollo and the Space Shuttle programs, and visited Johnson Space Center often. Thanks for the details

What a memory. I was 10 years old visiting my grandparents house. This was back when adults had complete control over the one television in the house, and they were not interested in space stuff. Fortunately, there was an eight in black & white set in the camper. I had the opportunity to watch the shuttle leave the back of the carrier aircraft, and do its landing. Very exciting, even on such a tiny screen.

Very interesting video. I recall watching the Enterprise test flights as kid and thinking the future had arrived. 40 odd years later, I am watching SpaceX build arms to catch Starship Booster and thinking the future has arrived.

Your videos are so informative and interesting. I have no idea how you keep creating these interesting topics, even with your wide range of knowledge. Absolutely a pleasure, thank you so much, Scott.

Awesome video! I love the shuttles and was sorry to see them shut down. But I learned a lot I never knew before. I wondered why Enterprise never flew...now I know! Thank you for a great video.

That film of the F8 Crusader is _terrifying._

"it's not a fighter jet, it's a flying brick on approach" LMAO

I remember the shuttle on back of that 747 flying over where I lived when I was a kid. Very cool seeing it fly over.

Hi Scott--Very Well Done! I got into the program about 1 year after these tests were completed. I'd like to make a note here if I may-- With the tail cone on, glide time was 5 1/2 minutes, with the tail cone off it was 2 1/2 minutes. Quite a change!

I was fortunate enough to be related to an astronaut and got to witness his first launch live. I got to go to another but there was an issue with one of the main engines at T-9 seconds and they had to postpone the launch for like 2 weeks and we couldn't stay in Florida to wait so we had to go home. But he is retired now and in the astronaut hall of fame. I really miss the Space Shuttle!!

I read in “Into the black” that the bounce actually gave the landing gear team info that they couldn’t capture from the previous landings

What a great presentation, Scott. I was an engineering student at SFSU back then and we visited Singer Link and saw the simulator. What a monster machine! I think the artists at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch were inspired by that Singer Link simulator when they designed tanks walking on stilts for the opening battle scene. The audio from that bouncy landing sounded like my first solo landing in a Cessna. My youngest son, who is an airline pilot and my CPI, had a great laugh and then made me do it again.

wow this footage is outstanding to see the space shuttle lift right off the plane like that just f****** awesome

Greetings from germany. I remember us, a bunch of very young gliderpilots, to write to NASA to please let us fly the space shuttle in 1983. Obviosly to no avail...

That F-8 footage looked SKETCHY! Wow. These pilots were made of something else.

The Shuttle program held a big personal interest for me as a young teen, and throughout its life. My BIL worked on improvements to the C-130 tail, which lead to the design team for the main booster guide fins on the Saturn V. I had a brother in Air Force flight flight training, and I later attend college as an AFROTC Pilot rated cadet. Historically, I followed all the designs on WWII and Korean War aircraft, as I was an advanced math student from early age (college degree was in Mathematics), so I followed the Shuttle designs with interest. Few people recall that the NASA engineers used the earliest 'lift body' data from the wingless M2F2 aircraft, which had been propelled by being hauled down a runway by big V8 hotrodded Chrysler! I think the Century series Fighters provided gross examples of problems using ailerons vs rudders on how to turn an aircraft for final approach (the Shuttle wouldn't survive an episode of the deadly "saber dance"). When the Vietnam War ended, I signed out of the flight program; I had gotten too tall for fighters cockpits, but lived on through flight with the mathematics.

Another beautiful video thank you Scott.

That digital fly-by-wire footage would be what I look like flying just about anything in KSP

I am just at awe how those brave man tested those things putting everything on the line, to advance our quest to be explorers. Thank you.

This brings back many memories. I was in the AF from '78- '82, stationed at Norton AFB as part of the 1835th EIS. Arriving TDY at Edwards in Summer '79 I got to witness many, many test flights of the 747/Shuttle coming on and off runway. I used to marvel at the skill it took to do touch and goes there. My groups job was to install commo, metro, video and data cabling across Edwards for the glide tests onto Rogers Dry Lake. We spent months out there working on that. It was a turning point of my life actually. I was part of a mission, working with a bunch of great people with a time line that had to be met. We pulled this off a few months ahead of schedule. Some of the work we did was right along the active runways. I remember watching the transport combo taking off etc maybe 300 feet away from where we were working. Also slews of the coolest planes I've ever seen. NASA stuff, old F-102's, 106's, A-7's, modified B-52's. It was just a real source of excitment for a young country boy. Great video as always!!

Outstanding as usual. Scott rocks

There are photos online backing up the fact that lettered onto one of the rear support pylons on the carrier aircraft was the following instruction: "Attach orbiter here, black side down."

That was cool to see the Link simulator! I was in high-school at the time of these test flights, and now I am a senior level systems engineer for Link (recently acquired by CAE USA).

Omg I absolutely love the ingenuity of the simulator video feed solution!

Awesome. Loved this. Thanks Scott

The carrier aircraft is on display at the Space Center in Houston with a mock-up space shuttle. It is a great display.

Great to hear some discussion of the orbiter and orbiter/carrier wind tunnel testing. For work I regularly go to one of the wind tunnels where a fair number of the small scale tests were done throughout the shuttle's lifetime, and a lot of the models are just sitting out in the basement there. Always a good time to just walk down there and take in the history.

Loved the explanations and the toned used. Great production! The ending was priceless!

I have 2 memories of Enterprise. The first was standing on a chair in a packed room at college to watch the maiden flight of a Space Shuttle, in August 1977 (thanks for clarifying the date). My second memory was of being at the Paris Air Show in 1983, and seeing Enterprise and the SCA take off from Le Bourget airport. The two craft were touring Europe, and they were leaving for Rome.

Those pitch oscillations at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="706">11:46</a> are absolutely 100% Kerbal

Nice software/hardware development story. Shows the importance of knowing your hardware’s interaction with the outside world.

Man, that was an excellent video! Thank you!

Thank you for that video, Mr. Manley!

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="370">6:10</a>, wait SOMEONE needs to make a full video on that 70s flight simulator, it sounds awesome! I wonder if they kept the whole map and camera system somewhere? I really want to see what does it look like inside the cockpit in high quality, there's barely any infos about it on the Internet

I remember watching this landing live on TV, and we all held our breath after that first bounce. It was pretty exciting to see. Really enjoyed hearing what you dug up about this test and Enterprise itself.

Great video Scott. Enjoyed it.

One of my favorite memories is being at the cape when Columbia came back on the 747, we were at what they called the spaceport USA then and they announced it on the PA, everyone looked up and clapped as it flew by on approach.

It's a shame they never got to launch the shuttle from Vandenberg. There was no chance I'd ever get to make a trip to Florida to see it launched, but I might have been able to see a west coast launch.

PIO in an experimental aircraft is frightening enough, but to have the flight computer adding to the chaos is slightly terrifying.

The best video about the Approach and Landing tests I've seen!

Learning another thing here. Thank you. great work buddy

The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.

Some years ago I visited the Enterprise in New York. It was my first. And the most tear jerking... Had watery eyes the whole time. Saw the others later and loved it every time. They all have their special features.

Solid wheelie there Cap! 10/10!

Well done. Learned a lot about the Space Shuttle program. Thank you.

Enterprise: "I lead others to a treasure I cannot possess."

One of the best videos you’ve made. That was enthralling.

Simply fantastic video. Thank you.

“Any landing you walk away from is a good one, Any landing where you can use the craft again is a great one”

I did a lot of work on Enterprise, from simulator design to rollout, and Vandenberg fit checks.

I will always cherish the memories of the anticipation of the launches and landings as a young kid, never missed them. Excellent video, thank you.

I always learn so much from your videos. Thank You. ^.^

Well done. Thank you Scott.

That real cockpit audio was absolutely brilliant. Thanks so much for sharing.

The display on the Intrepid is amazing, you get to walk under the shuttle, they have an itty bitty Soyuz capsule underneath, and you really get a sense of just how amazing the shuttle was, payload wise.

Great video. Glad I found your channel.

Thanks for posting. Very interesting.

Very cool tidbit about the longer attachment pylons for the test flights to achieve the required AOA. I never knew that.

I remember several times with Enterprise: 1. Stacking Enterprise with inert SRBs and ET in the VAB and doing rollout tests to Pad 39A. 2. Stacking Enterprise out at VAFB and rolling it on the road (that was a nightmare as the road was tight and had some interesting turns. 3. Testing the leading edge panels following the Columbia accident (that was a sad time!)

Thanks, Scott. This was a fun one for me.

brilliant video scott :)

Great video! The development and early years of the shuttle program are very interesting to me. The fact that they got this working 40 years ago continues to impress me! What an accomplishment.

Great video Scott! It might have been a flawed machine, but there’s something about a space shuttle orbiter that stirs the soul. Phenomenal piece of kit whose influence on a young space fan is the reason I’m probably watching this video today.

Footage never seen. Thanks. I was lucky enough to watch 2 launches (night and day) myself: it is something you never forget.

Good video. Glad I found this. There's always something new to learn and this video delivered that.

I'm only 30, and have only been a space nut for about the last 5 years. I always love hearing about the older stuff, how they did so much with so little. Amazing. Thanks, Scott!

I’ve been looking for years for any picture of the shuttle simulator. Finally you showed a few seconds of it. I remember in Southern California they had two stationary shuttle flight decks simulators nose to nose. One of them would be hooked up to a camera on a gantry in the room. I remembered the near as big as a football field. I believe on the floor was a model of Florida. Edwards Air Force Base would’ve been on the wall. And the ceiling was the alternate landing site in Puerto Rico. They would actually fly a camera in the room on gantries. So detailed you could actually crash through building models in in the Florida model. All I n the days before electronic flight simulators. I believe the 4 shuttle computers were only 16k of Memory. Three working to check each other’s work and a fourth one to be brought online if one was found faulty. I was starting to think I was crazy because I’ve never been able to find a picture of the mechanical simulator. They also had a Shuttle arm simulator

Great insight video. Thanks!

Excellent Video my dood