Editing Marshall Space Flight Center (section)

====Space Shuttle development====
[[File:Space Shuttle Pathfinder OV-098 original configuration.jpg|thumb|A crane hoists the [[Space Shuttle Pathfinder|Facilities Test Article]], a mockup of an actual shuttle orbiter, into the Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand at MSFC to test the procedures in preparation for the dynamic test of [[Space Shuttle Enterprise|Space Shuttle ''Enterprise'']].]]
On January 5, 1972, President [[Richard M. Nixon]] announced plans to develop the [[Space Shuttle]], a reusable Space Transportation System (STS) for routine access to space. The Shuttle was composed of the [[Space Shuttle orbiter|Orbiter Vehicle]] (OV) containing the crew and payload, two [[Solid Rocket Booster]]s (SRBs), and the [[Space Shuttle external tank|External Tank]] (ET) that carried liquid fuel for the OV's main engines. MSFC was responsible for the SRBs, the OV's three main engines, and the ET. MSFC was also responsible for the integration of [[Spacelab]], a versatile laboratory developed by the [[European Space Agency]] and carried in the Shuttle's cargo bay on some flights.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Super Lightweight External Tank |url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/pdf/113020main_shuttle_lightweight.pdf |access-date=2021-12-11 |archive-date=2022-01-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118065308/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/pdf/113020main_shuttle_lightweight.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first test firing of an OV main engine was in 1975. Two years later, the first firing of a SRB took place and tests on the ET began at MSFC. The first ''Enterprise'' OV flight, attached to a [[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft]] (SCA), was in February 1977; this was followed by free landings in August and October. In March 1978, the ''Enterprise'' OV was flown atop a SCA to MSFC. Mated to an ET, the partial Space Shuttle was hoisted onto the modified [[Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand]] where it was subjected to a full range of vibrations comparable to those in a launch. The first spaceworthy Space Shuttle, ''[[Space Shuttle Columbia|Columbia]]'', was completed and placed at the KSC for checking and launch preparation. On April 12, 1981, the ''Columbia'' made the first orbital test flight.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}