14 DAY TRIAL // A dedicated crew of workers removed the shuttle Enterprise from atop the NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) 905 early on Sunday, May 13. The two vehicles were at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, after the test orbiter had been delivered from Virginia.
SCA 905 brought the space shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum a couple of weeks back, and the spacecraft now occupies the spot Enterprise once had. NASA decided last year to send the latter to Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
The Intrepid is a decommissioned aircraft carrier that is currently docked in Manhattan. Enterprise is scheduled to reach its final destination this June, after a series of preparations are completed. The test orbiter, which never actually flew to space, will make its way to the museum on a barge.
The video above shows how engineers worked through the night to remove the shuttle from the heavily modified Boeing 747 aircraft that carried it to New York. The orbiter is then placed on a large vehicle, which ferries it inside a hangar. Enjoy!