New York, NY — Space shuttle Enterprise, NASA’s test orbiter destined for display in New York City, will soon have a new home. As aerial photographs taken Friday (April 26) show, the constructionof a new exhibition pavilion is taking shape above and around the prototype space shuttle, which arrived on the flight deck of the Intrepid, Sea, Air & Space Museum, a converted World War II aircraft carrier docked on Manhattan’s west side, one year ago this month.
“The one-year anniversary of Enterprise’s arrival in New York City was an exciting milestone for the museum and everyone whose imagination is captured by manned space flight,” a spokesperson for the Intrepid said in a statement provided to collectSPACE.com. “We are currently completing the framework of the new Space Shuttle Pavilion that will serve as the home to the Enterprise exhibit.”
“We will soon be installing the outer skin of the structure, then completing the interior, in time for the opening this summer,” the spokesperson said.
Enterprise, which did not fly in space but was used for a piloted approach and landing tests in 1977, touched down on April 27, 2012, at John F. Kennedy International Airport mounted atop a NASA jumbo jet. The orbiter was then transported by barge to the Intrepid just over a month later and opened for public display in July.
A short three months later, Hurricane Sandy tore through New York City, completely destroying the Intrepid’s Space Shuttle Pavilion, a pressurized structure that sheltered Enterprise. The superstorm also caused minor damage to the shuttle’s vertical stabilizer, or tail.
Repairs to the orbiter were finished in March, when the temporary covered scaffolding surrounding Enterprise was taken down.
Space Shuttle Enterprise’s New Home Takes Shape at NYC Museum