Space Shuttle Enterprise to Fly Over NYC This Morning

URL copied to clipboard.
enterprise
  • A couple of weeks ago, the Space Shuttle Discovery made its final airborne trip up the East Coast, affording D.C.-ers the opportunity to see the famous shuttle make the rounds over some historic sites before heading to the Smithsonian for display.

    This, morning it’s New York’s turn. The space shuttle Enterprise is set to take a low-altitude grand tour of the tri-state area, after which it will land at Kennedy Airport and prepare to join its new home on display on the USS Intrepid.

    Piggybacking on a Boeing 747, the shuttle will leave Dulles Airport near Washington at 9:30 am and arrive over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at about 10:30 — flying for about an hour before it makes its final stop.

    The shuttle will be paying a visit to the Statue of Liberty, the Tappan Zee Bridge, soar over the Hudson, and double back over Manhattan’s West Side. Spectators are expected to be lining up at the the Intrepid Museum, Pier 86, Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, and even the walkway on the George Washington Bridge.

    Unlike the Discovery, the Enterprise never made it into space. Unveiled in 1976, it was the first shuttle built on U.S. soil but ended up being used for high-altitude test flights instead of breaking through Earth’s atmosphere. The shuttle does, however, get brownie points for being named after the starship Enterprise from Star Trek.

    Will you #SpotTheShuttle this morning? Even if you’re not in New York, @NASA will be keeping you updated live via the little blue bird:

  • — NASA (@NASA) April 27, 2012

  • — NASA (@NASA) April 27, 2012

More headlines