Space Shuttle Enterprise ALT Malfunction checklist - Haise/Fullerton

SPACE SHUTTLE ENTERPRISE ALT CREW MALFUNCTION PROCEDURES CHECKLIST 

Used for the first free flight of the Space Shuttle Enterprise !

“FF 1” • Haise–Fullerton Crew Association • More Than 150 Printed Pages, dated february 15th 1977

An exceptionally rare and apparently complete “ALT Crew Malfunction Procedures” checklist prepared for the 1977 Space Shuttle Enterprise Approach and Landing Test program.

Marked “FF 1” on the cover, this substantial operational manual measures approximately 9 × 11 inches and contains more than 75 sheets—approximately 150 printed pages—with most leaves printed on both sides. A period pencil notation on the outer cover associates the checklist with the ALT crew of:

Fred W. Haise Jr. — Commander
C. Gordon Fullerton — Pilot

Haise, the Apollo 13 lunar-module pilot, and Fullerton formed one of NASA’s two assigned Enterprise flight crews. Together they flew several captive-active tests and three of Enterprise’s five historic free flights. NASA confirms that Haise and Fullerton conducted the first free flight on 12 August 1977, the third on 23 September and the fifth and final ALT flight on 26 October.

Technical Purpose of the Checklist

Unlike a commemorative publication or general training handbook, a crew malfunction checklist was intended as a concise cockpit reference for recognizing and responding to abnormal spacecraft conditions.

Such procedures were especially important aboard Enterprise because the ALT flights combined several demanding factors:

• The orbiter was an experimental, unpowered glider.
• Its flight controls depended on digital, fly-by-wire systems.
• Separation from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft occurred at altitude.
• The crew had only a few minutes to complete the approach and landing.
• No propulsion system was available for a second landing attempt.

The checklist would have supported rapid diagnosis and crew response to failures involving the orbiter’s flight-control, electrical, hydraulic, avionics, navigation, communications and mechanical systems. Its tabulated, quick-reference format was designed for use under high cockpit workload, when crews needed direct procedural guidance rather than lengthy engineering explanations.

NASA’s final ALT technical report records that a general-purpose computer was lost immediately after separation on the first free flight. Haise and Fullerton followed the planned computer-malfunction procedure, powered down affected flight-control accelerometers and continued to a successful landing—an excellent illustration of why carefully developed malfunction checklists were essential to the program.

The Enterprise Approach and Landing Test Program

Enterprise, designated Orbiter Vehicle 101, was the first full-scale Space Shuttle orbiter. Although it was not equipped for orbital flight, it served as the critical aerodynamic and operational pathfinder for the reusable Shuttle system.

The ALT campaign was conducted during 1977 at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center and Edwards Air Force Base in California. Its purpose was to establish that the Shuttle could be carried safely on the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, separate cleanly in flight and perform the steep, unpowered descent and precision landing required at the end of an orbital mission.

Five free flights were completed. The first three were flown with a streamlined tail cone installed over the orbiter’s aft section. The final two omitted the tail cone, producing a configuration and aerodynamic drag more representative of an operational Shuttle returning from orbit. The first four landings were made on the broad Rogers Dry Lake surface; the final flight concluded on Edwards’ concrete runway.

The Haise–Fullerton Flights

Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton played a central role in the ALT campaign. Their first free flight on 12 August 1977 was the first occasion on which a Space Shuttle orbiter flew independently with a crew aboard.

After release from the carrier aircraft, Enterprise had no engines capable of sustaining flight. Haise and Fullerton had to manage the orbiter’s energy precisely, follow its steep approach profile, execute the flare and land safely on the dry lakebed. The flight lasted only a little over five minutes but demonstrated that the radical delta-winged vehicle could be controlled successfully during its most critical low-speed phase.

Importance to the Operational Space Shuttle

The ALT program addressed one of the greatest uncertainties facing the Space Shuttle project: whether the large, heavy orbiter could transition safely from atmospheric descent to an aircraft-style landing without conventional engines or the option to go around.

The results confirmed Enterprise’s subsonic aerodynamic qualities, flight-control behavior, crew procedures and landing performance. NASA subsequently determined that no additional dedicated orbiter flight tests were required before proceeding toward the first orbital mission, STS-1, flown by Columbia in April 1981.

Experience gained during ALT also exposed areas requiring further study. The final landing produced pilot-induced oscillations during the approach and touchdown sequence, leading NASA to conduct additional research into Shuttle control-system response and pilot handling.

Collecting Significance

Original procedural material from the Enterprise ALT program is considerably scarcer than standard Space Shuttle-era publications. This checklist represents the practical, crew-facing side of the test campaign: the procedures developed to help astronauts manage failures aboard an experimental spacecraft during brief, unforgiving flights.

Notable features include:

• Complete ALT Crew Malfunction Procedures checklist
• Cover marking “FF 1” - first free flight !
• Period pencil notation associating it with Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton
• Approximately 9 × 11 inches
• More than 75 sheets / approximately 150 printed pages
• Primarily printed on both sides
• Direct association with the formative flight-test phase of the Space Shuttle program

A museum-quality reference piece for an advanced collection focused on Space Shuttle Enterprise, Fred Haise, Gordon Fullerton, NASA flight testing, crew procedures or the development of the reusable Space Transportation System.

Condition: Complete and in very good vintage condition, with expected handling and storage wear consistent with an original working procedural manual. The outer cover bears handwritten pencil notations.