Image of the Day Gallery

Space Shuttle Orbiter Model

Ames' contributions to STS-1

NASA Ames' wind tunnels played a key role in defining shuttle aerondynamics and design of the orbiter. The awesome 36 percent scale model of the orbiter - 44 feet long, photographed above, was fabricated and tested in Ames' 40-foot by 80-foot testing was to identify the influence of the TPS on the orbiters' low-speed aerodynamics. This model still exists, painted with the striking black underbelly and white top. It is proudly displayed in front of the former Ames Visitor Center, Moffett Field, Ca, near the 40-foot-by 80-foot wind tunnel where it was so intensely tested.