Enterprise has never been used in an actual space mission, but was a full-scale test vehicle used for flights in the atmosphere and experiments on the ground. Shuttle Endeavor is going to Los Angeles and shuttle Atlantis is staying at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. At the Smithsonian, its place has been taken by the shuttle Discovery. Enterprise comes to New York as part of NASA’s process of wrapping up the shuttle program, which ended last summer. “When somebody comes to visit, they will not only see the shuttle itself, but will have an engaging and interactive experience inside the pavilion,” she said. The museum anticipates opening the shuttle exhibit to the public in mid-July. After that, Marenoff-Zausner said, it will be put on a barge in early June and brought up the Hudson River to the Intrepid, where it will be put on the flight deck and a pavilion over it will be completed. That won’t happen right away after its fly-around, the Enterprise is heading to Kennedy Airport, where it will remain for a few weeks until it’s taken off the 747 jet it rode to New York. The shuttle prototype was housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington but will soon be making its home at the Intrepid, where it will be “the largest and most significant space artifact in the entire Northeast,” said Susan Marenoff-Zausner, Intrepid’s president. The shuttle had been scheduled to arrive earlier in the week, but NASA pushed it back because of bad weather. Nassau County office workers looked out their windows and marveled as it passed over the Roosevelt Field Mall, located near a former airfield where Charles Lindbergh took off for Paris in 1927. “An amazing view!” The shuttle also flew over central Long Island. “There it goes: Space Shuttle Enterprise flying over,” tweeted Lincoln Center. The roar of the aircraft could barely be heard over the howling winds. Onlookers bundled up on a blustery spring day crowds gathered along piers, cameras slung around their necks. Dozens more lined the pier by the ferry terminal. About five minutes later, the shuttle turned around, again flying past the aircraft carrier. The crowd cheered and applauded and snapped pictures as the shuttle flew over the river. A few dozen people gathered on the deck of its future permanent home, the Intrepid. It was chased through the air by a NASA plane, and in the Hudson River by numerous ferries and other boats. When the big event occurred, the controller said to the shuttle craft: “Welcome to New York, and thanks for the show.” A little earlier, as the shuttle passed Manhattan, people gathered on rooftops to gawk. Others asked where they should look to get the best view. At the Kennedy tower, air traffic controllers had been busy fielding inquiries from circling pilots, who were informed they’d be delayed from landing because of “special activity.” Some wondered how much longer they would be in the air. “Touchdown at JFK!” NASA declared on Twitter. Its trip included flyovers over parts of the city and landmarks including the Statue of Liberty and the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on Manhattan’s west side, before landing at its temporary home, Kennedy Airport. Enterprise zoomed around the city, riding piggyback on top of a modified jumbo jet. NEW YORK (AP) - Look! Up in the sky! It’s a … space shuttle? An unusual flying object came to New York from Washington on Friday - the space shuttle Enterprise.
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