Pathfinder

Pathfinder is a 75-ton simulator used to practice lifting and handling real Orbiters. Built at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1977 as a stand-in for Space Shuttle Enterprise, it was used to fit-check the roads and facilities planned for the Mated Vertical Ground Vibration Test. In mid-1978, Pathfinder was shipped by barge to Kennedy Space Center, where it was used to fit-check the Mate/Demate Device, the Orbiter Processing Facility and the Vehicle Assembly Building platforms, and it also served for ground crew training. In early 1979, it was used to rehearse post-landing procedures at the Kennedy Shuttle Landing Facility so convoy operations could be accurately simulated. In late 1979, Pathfinder returned to Marshall Space Flight Center. After several years in storage, a group of Japanese businessmen sought a full-scale Orbiter model for the Great Space Exposition and agreed to pay Teledyne Brown Engineering to modify Pathfinder to more closely resemble an actual Orbiter. After being displayed in Tokyo, Pathfinder returned to Marshall Space Flight Center and was later brought to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center for display. Its listed dimensions and specifications are 120 feet in length, 47 feet in height, a 78-foot wingspan, a weight of 153,000 pounds, a crew cabin volume of 2,325 cubic feet, and a vehicle attitude of 10 degrees.

Huntsville, Alabama · United States