aerospace engineer maxwell hunter and others had been using the term "shuttlecraft" for several years, corresponding to the broadcast dates of "star trek". by 1969, the term "space shuttle" had replaced ilrv. in april 1969, a space shuttle task group was formed within nasa. "star trek"s penultimate episode, the last in a regular time slot, had aired on march 14, 1969. on january 5, 1972, president richard nixon formally announced development of the space shuttle, making the name permanent.