Space Shuttle Pathfinder

The Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'' (unofficial Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-098) is a Space Shuttle test simulator made of steel and wood. Constructed by NASA in 1977 as an unnamed facilities test article, 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. The mockup was later returned to the United States and placed on permanent display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in May 1988.

Activities

Originally unnamed, the simulator was built at the Marshall Space Flight Center in 1977 for use in activities such as checking roadway clearances, crane capabilities and fits within structures. It was later shipped by barge to the Kennedy Space Center and was used for ground crew testing in the Vehicle Assembly Building, Orbiter Processing Facility, and Shuttle Landing Facility. ''Pathfinder'' is approximately the same size, shape and weight of an actual orbiter. Using ''Pathfinder'' allowed for facilities testing without requiring use of the more delicate and expensive ''Enterprise''.

In 1981, the Marshall Space Flight Center built a cockpit emulator to train crew members conducting science projects to operate the Shuttle during emergencies while in orbit. The emulator was designed to simulate the environment inside the cockpit, including positioning various control panels and viewing through the cockpit’s windows. To achieve this, the exterior of the Shuttle’s cockpit had to be incorporated into the emulator’s design. A Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation was published in the Broad Agency Announcements in the Federal Register. Ultimately, a contract was awarded to RTS Laboratories, Inc., in Gainesville, Florida, to construct a composite shell of the Shuttle’s fuselage in the cockpit region. Later that year, the composite shell was delivered to the Marshall Space Flight Center, where it was installed and outfitted with instrumentation.

Refurbishment

After sitting in storage for many years, the America-Japan Society, Inc. obtained the wood and steel mockup at a cost of US$1 million and hired Teledyne Brown Engineering to refurbish it to more closely resemble an actual Space Shuttle. It was named ''Pathfinder'' and displayed at the Great Space Shuttle Exposition in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984.

In 1982, Teledyne Brown Engineering contracted RTS Laboratories, Inc., to design and construct the nose cone and cockpit section of the Shuttle’s hull. RTS Laboratories first created a template for the front section of the hull to ensure the Shuttle’s fuselage aligned with the nose cone and cockpit section, which covered approximately the first 30 feet of the Shuttle. A foam-fiberglass composite design was chosen to ensure the Pathfinder's long-term ruggedness with minimal weight. The design team accounted for transportation restrictions, ensuring the front section could be delivered to the Marshall Space Flight Center via the interstate highway system, which imposed limits on the width and height of the product. They fabricated the nose cone and cockpit section in five separate pieces and delivered them to MSFC, where engineers installed the components onto the Pathfinder’s framework.

RTS Laboratories faced the challenge of producing the front section of the Shuttle’s hull in pieces small enough for transport to MSFC, all within the limited timeframe and budget provided. To meet this challenge, the team fabricated the hull without relying on a mold. A montage of photos captures how RTS Laboratories successfully accomplished this task.

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 and two filament-wound Solid Rocket Booster casings, which had been designed for polar-orbit launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

On February 16, 1988, NASA shipped MPTA-ET, an external tank which had been used for propulsion tests with MPTA-098, on an open barge from Stennis Space Center in Mississippi up the river to Michoud, where it was transferred to the Orion barge to sail up the river to Marshall Space Flight Center. The tank, not having been designed to hold the weight of an orbiter at an angle, required reinforcements. NASA installed I-beam spokes in the tank at Marshall, in building 4705. ''Pathfinder''s weight is concentrated in the tail, though, and the tank required further reinforcements. The tank was then transported over land to the display at the museum.

In May 1988, the 89-ton ''Pathfinder'' was installed atop the display at the Space & Rocket Center.

In 1999, NASA removed the forward assemblies from each SRB attached to the ''Pathfinder'' stack. Although the SRBs are recovered and reused after each flight, several of the forward assemblies had been damaged or lost over the history of the Space Shuttle program necessitating requisition of those attached to the ''Pathfinder'' stack as spares.

In 2008, repairs were made to the forward part of the mockup after decades of exposure to the weather had corroded the floor section near the vehicle's nose. This corrosion caused the "belly pan" to drop from a mounting bracket onto the external tank. The damaged area was part of the fiberglass and plywood added to the mockup before its exhibition in Japan.

In 2020 the Center received a "Save America's Treasures" grant for $500,000 from the National Park Service. 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 Aug. 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 were scheduled to follow, completing the restoration of the display.

See also

* Space Shuttle ''America'', a tourist attraction
* Space Shuttle ''Independence'', a full-scale made from blueprints public awareness display mockup
* Space Shuttle ''Inspiration'', a pre-finalization engineering mockup

References

External links

Orbiter Vehicles

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pathfinder
Replica spacecraft
Space Shuttle tourist attractions
U.S. Space & Rocket Center