New York, NY — Almost 40 years after it gave chase to the space shuttle Enterprise, a NASA jet is about to catch up with the prototype winged orbiter at a museum in New York City.

The two-seat, supersonic T-38 Talon jet, tail number 913, is set to land on the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a converted aircraft carrier berthed on the west side of Manhattan, in early April. Enterprise has been on display at the Intrepid since 2012.

NASA's T-38 jet, tail no. 913, is seen in chase of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft mated with the orbiter Enterprise in 1977. The same jet will go on display with the prototype shuttle 40 years later. (NASA)
NASA’s T-38 jet, tail no. 913, is seen in chase of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft mated with the orbiter Enterprise in 1977. The same jet will go on display with the prototype shuttle 40 years later. (NASA)

“This is the perfect airplane to enhance Enterprise’s story,” said Eric Boehm, the curator of aviation at the Intrepid, in an exclusive interview with collectSPACE.

The no. 913 T-38 was one of several such jets that flew as the chase planes for NASA’s 1977 Approach and Landing Test (ALT) program. Carried piggyback and released from atop a modified Boeing 747 jet, the Enterprise proved that the space shuttle orbiter could safely land as a glider.

“It was an amazing test program that had to happen before the other orbiters flew in space,” said Boehm.

After the ALT program, T-38 913 (N913NA) was used as a training jet, flown by astronauts to gain experience working in a high-pressure environment and to keep up their flight proficiency. Built by Northrop (now Northrop Grumman) in 1965 and delivered to NASA in 1969, T-38 913 flew for 38 years in support of the space program.

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-030716a-intrepid-t38-chaseplane-enterprise.html

NASA jet to be reunited with space shuttle Enterprise at Intrepid museum

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