September 17, 2021

Today in 1976, NASA publicly unveiled the first Space Shuttle prototype during a ceremony in Palmdale, California. Originally to be named Space Shuttle Constitution, the orbiter took the namesake of the famed Star Trek starship USS Enterprise, after President Ford reportedly received thousands of petition signatures from avid Star Trek fans across the country.

Star Trek actors Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, DeForest Kelley, and James Doohan attend the unveiling of the space shuttle Enterprise, named for their fictional 23rd-century spacecraft. Credit: AP