This piece originally ran in the October 2023 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.

Before the miniaturization and adoption of hard disk drives, magnetic tape reels like this were a primary data storage medium in early computers. This reel contained part of the flight test program for the approach and landing tests of the space shuttle Enterprise. During these tests in 1977, the prototype shuttle was released in midair from the back of a Boeing 747 to test its glide characteristics. It was presented to test pilot and astronaut Joe Engle, EAA 390011, at the conclusion of the program.