The Projects

Space Shuttle Pathfinder

One of the iconic images at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and Space Camp, the Pathfinder Shuttle Stack showcases the advancement of space exploration during the shuttle era. After years of weathering the elements, the Space Shuttle Pathfinder was taken down refurbished, and restored to Huntsville’s Spaceline in 2024. The Space Shuttle Pathfinder features a new shell that is formed with more than 500 pieces that were 3D printed, mounted to the test artifact’s steel armature, and coated to replicate the flown appearance of the Space Shuttle Enterprise. In addition to constructing an orbiter shell, the project included restoring the solid rocket boosters and external tank. To create a finish as space age as the printing process, the Rocket Center brought in experts whose resumes include projects for Disney and Universal studios.

Our Donors

What is Pathfinder?

The Pathfinder is a one-of-a-kind testing artifact created to develop procedures for moving and handling the space shuttle orbiters. Also known as Orbital Vehicle-098, the artifact is a steel structure roughly the size, weight and shape of an orbiter. Constructed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in 1977, the article, later named Pathfinder, was used as a stand-in for the first orbiter, Enterprise (OV-101), to test roads and cranes. It was shipped by barge to Kennedy Space Center to be used for ground crew testing before returning to Marshall Space Flight Center where it was stored for many years.

A group of Japanese businessmen paid to modify the structure to more closely resemble a real orbiter and displayed it from 1983- 1984 at an exposition in Tokyo, Japan. After the expo, Pathfinder returned to Huntsville, Alabama, and has been on permanent display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center since May 1988. It is mounted to the Main Propulsion Test Article (MPTA) External Tank, also an artifact, used for early tanking tests.