When NASA engineers say you have to be ready to think on your feet and resolve unique problems, they aren't kidding! This next story from Swing Arm engineer Ken Fore is a case in point:

"Every now and then when you work for NASA you might become involved in an assignment that is a little unusual compared to your normal duties. Something that gives you a break from performing the same job every day and yet is still exciting and fun. Such an opportunity became available to me during my career when NASA decided to put the Orbiter Enterprise on display at the 1984 New Orleans World´s Fair."

"The Enterprise was a Shuttle Orbiter test vehicle that was used to demonstrate the ability of the Orbiters to maneuver and land in a controlled and safe manner after reentering the earth´s atmosphere. The Shuttle Approach and Landing Test Program was accomplished in 1977 at the Dryden Flight Research Center in California. After completion of this test program, the Enterprise was available for other test support and also public relations efforts to help enable the world to learn more about the Shuttle Program. As part of that effort, NASA agreed to take the Enterprise to the World´s Fair in New Orleans."

"That´s when the fun part started, trying to figure out how to get a 165,000 pound, 122 foot long Shuttle Orbiter with a 78 foot wing span to downtown New Orleans and place it on a display at the World´s Fair. The fair was not near the airport where the 747 carrier aircraft could land and offload the Orbiter. In addition, all the streets leading into the Fair were very narrow. Fortunately, however, the fair was right beside the Mississippi River. Since there was river access, the NASA and Contractor team assigned to this project decided the best way to transport the Enterprise was by river barge."

"The next challenge was to find a suitable waterway loading dock near the location where the 747 carrier aircraft could land after flying the Enterprise on its back from California. The Brookley Airport in Mobile, Alabama turned out to be the closest place, so that´s where the team started their journey. The 747 landed in Mobile, we took the Enterprise off its back and put it on a transporter. The transporter was driven to the Mobile Bay loading dock and onto the barge. From there, the barge was towed by tugboats along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline to the Mississippi river and on up to the New Orleans World´s Fair."

"Things that made this project exciting and fun were the new and different locations we were working in and the excitement of the people who came out to see what we were doing. The project was very rewarding because of the difficulty in developing new procedures for activities that had never been done before in the Shuttle Program. The Orbiter had never been removed from the 747 Aircraft with two mobile cranes and the Orbiter had never been transported over the water on a barge. The final gratification was the impressive display of the Orbiter Enterprise on its stand at the New Orleans World´s Fair and knowing that many people from all over the world would be able to enjoy it up close."