NEW YORK—The Space Shuttle Enterprise landed on the deck of the USS Intrepid on Wednesday afternoon—its final resting place after its 2-day trek up the Hudson River took place over several days. The retired shuttle didn’t fly in for a picture perfect final landing on the Intrepid, but was hoisted by crane from a barge in the Hudson, a 4-hour procedure.
Enterprise was moved from the Smithsonian to a hanger at JFK Airport in April, and was scheduled to complete its move to the Intrepid on Tuesday. Poor weather on Monday delayed the shuttle’s trip. On Sunday, day one of the journey, Enterprise sustained non-structural damage to its wing as it clipped a bridge abutment, according to a report from CollectSpace.
Moving the Enterprise, a prototype shuttle which never flew in space, was one phase in a round of shuffles for the retired fleet. Space Shuttle Discovery, the most used with 39 missions, is now at the Smithsonian. The Space Shuttle Atlantis will move to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in November. The Space Shuttle Endeavour, which replaced the Challenger after it was destroyed in a 1986 explosion during liftoff, will move to Los Angeles in September.
The Enterprise, unveiled to the public Sept. 17, 1976, was originally going to be named Constitution to honor the U.S. constitution’s bicentennial, but after Star Trek fans wrote to President Ford requesting the shuttle be named Enterprise—like the ship in the TV show—Ford obliged.
Enterprise was used in multiple critical ground tests to perfect the design for future space flight missions, as well as trainings.
The shuttle was housed at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum near Washington, D.C. since 1985.
The public can begin visiting Enterprise at the USS Intrepid in New York from July 19.
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