Shuttle Enterprise Received with Open Arms in New York

The orbiter Enterprise arrived at West Side Pier 84 in Manhattan yesterday, June 6, after completing its short journey from Washington DC to John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York. The vehicle was hoisted onto the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

The museum is actually a decommissioned aircraft carrier, which is permanently moored at Pier 84. NASA decided to award it the shuttle late last year, when establishing the future homes of the entire orbiter fleet. The shuttles were retired from active duty last July.

Enterprise was carried to Manhattan by barge, since moving it on New York's streets and bridges would have been nearly impossible. While traveling the Hudson River, the vehicle passed important landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center.

A crowd of hundreds gathered near the Intrepid when Enterprise arrived, atop a barge that also carried a large crane. The latter was used to hoist the orbiter on Intrepid's main deck, as evidenced in the image accompanying this article.

Spectators were pleased to get the chance to see such a unique event take place right before their eyes. Enterprise is the only NASA shuttle that never actually flew to space. Five others did, but only three survived until the closing of the Space Shuttle Program.

Challenger blew up shortly after launch in 1986, whereas Columbia broke apart during atmospheric reentry, in 2003. Both accidents taught NASA tough lessons, but they ensured that Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour would see the program through successfully.

Enterprise was used in the 1970s, when the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft dropped it from high altitudes. The goal was to assess the vehicle's ability to glide through the atmosphere without using any power.

After the first space-worthy shuttles had been built, Enterprise was side-lined and exhibited at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in Washington, DC. Its spot has now been occupied by the shuttle Discovery.

Atlantis will remain at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, to be displayed in a new Visitors Complex pavilion there. Endeavour will be ferried to Los Angeles later this year, where it will be displayed at the California Science Center, Space reports.