Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives in New York City (Pictures)

Lighting the Way

Photograph by Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

Lady Liberty greets the space shuttle Enterprise as the spacecraft sails into New York City atop a modified Boeing 747 Friday morning.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered around the Intrepid museum and other sites along Manhattan's west side to watch Enterprise fly into town.

Even though the orbiter didn't fly a space mission, it's still "an institution in American history," Susan Marenoff-Zausner, Intrepid's president, told the Associated Press.

Enterprise "tested so many different things that without it, travel into space would never have happened."

Published April 27, 2012

To Boldly Go

Photograph courtesy Mark Avino, Smithsonian Institution/NASA Mark Avino

With Enterprise riding piggyback, NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft takes off from Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia, Friday morning.

Completed in 1976, Enterprise was originally supposed to have been named Constitution, in honor of the U.S. Constitution's bicentennial. But a write-in campaign by fans of the Star Trek TV series led to the orbiter's current designation.

According to Reuters, actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the original series, was among those in New York today to witness Enterprise's arrival. (See a picture of Star Trek cast members during Enterprise's original rollout in 1976.)

Published April 27, 2012

Shuttle Spotting

Photograph by Shannon Stapleton, Reuters

During its New York City flyover Friday (pictured), the shuttle soared past the Statue of Liberty, along the Hudson River, and over the George Washington Bridge before landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Enterprise is no stranger to cheering crowds: The orbiter went on tour in 1983, making public appearances in France, Germany, Italy, England, and Canada. The spacecraft also went on display in New Orleans during the 1984 World's Fair.

(Also see "The Most Unforgettable Space Shuttle Pictures.")

Published April 27, 2012

City Slicker

Photograph by Mary Altaffer, AP

Framed by skyscrapers, the space shuttle Enterprise glides over the Hudson River Friday on its way to New York's JFK airport.

Now on the ground, the orbiter will be "demated" from the carrier aircraft and eventually shipped by barge up the Hudson to its new home atop the Intrepid. (Related: "Space Shuttle Discovery Arrives to Take 'Place of Honor.'")

The Intrepid itself is a retired aircraft carrier that served in World War II as well as during the Vietnam conflict and the Cold War. The military ship was converted into a museum that opened in New York in 1982.

Published April 27, 2012

Enterprise On Deck

Illustration courtesy Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

An artist's concept shows what Enterprise will look like on display in the Space Pavilion of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

The pavilion—to be built on Intrepid's flight deck in June—will be the shuttle's temporary home until the museum can construct a permanent facility, according to museum officials. The shuttle is slated to go on public display on July 19.

This fall NASA will fly the space shuttle Endeavour from Florida's Kennedy Space Center to Los Angeles, where the orbiter will join the collection of the California Science Center. The shuttle Atlantis, meanwhile, will remain in Florida and be housed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Published April 27, 2012

More Space Shuttle Pictures: Discovery Buzzes D.C. Monuments >>

Photograph courtesy Robert Markowitz, NASA

Published April 27, 2012