On June 5 1983, Nasa's space shuttle Enterprise made a historic visit to Stansted Airport. To mark the 25th anniversary of this occasion, the airport will host a special exhibition at Enterprise House today, featuring film footage of the shuttle landing, rare photographs and other memorabilia.
Derek Winter, Stansted's head of public affairs at the time, invited a number of retired staff members back to help open the exhibition. He said: ¡®The shuttle's visit was probably the most famous event so far in the history of the airport and I decided I couldn't just let the anniversary go by without doing something to mark the occasion.'
'I'm really looking forward to meeting up with some of the colleagues who worked with me back in 1983, and also talking to newer staff who perhaps were a bit young to remember this historic day.¡¯
'It is even more appropriate that we¡¯re holding the exhibition in Enterprise House, as the building was named in honour of the Shuttle visit.¡¯
On June 5, 1983, and in front of nearly half a million people, the Shuttle touched down on the back of a specially modified Boeing 747. The shuttle's visit to Stansted was part of a tour of Europe that also saw it visit France, Germany and Italy. |
