CNN style Design | Rare photos show the early years of NASA’s space shuttle era

The Columbia in 1979, ready to fly piggyback on a Boeing 747, formerly owned by American Airlines (hence the livery). Some its tiles were damaged, as visible, during a previous test flight on the back of the plane. Credit: NASA

NASA’s first space shuttle was meant to be named Constitution — a nod to the United States Bicentennial that year. But a write-in campaign by “Star Trek” fans prompted President Gerald Ford to change his mind.

Instead, the orbiter was called Enterprise, like the TV show’s starship. That’s why members of the “Star Trek” cast and crew, including Nichelle Nichols, George Takei and Gene Roddenberry, could be seen among the crowd at the shuttle’s September 1976 unveiling.  —read more—