Update: Space Shuttle Enterprise at Intrepid

Just came from the Intrepid's annual Christmas party where we received an update on the shuttle from the museum president. Apparently they have discarded the idea of developing the parking lot across the street as an exhibition center and are simply going to hoist it up on the flight deck and enclose it with a glass structure. It will airlifted to JFK sometime in April and be stored for 6 weeks before being transported by barge to its destination. Museum members will be able to view the shuttle before it opens to the general public . However no mention was made if admission to the shuttle exhibit would be included in the general price or be extra.

A $30 student membership would be a good investment as it would get you discounts on simulator rides and any aircraft tours.

Thanks for the update...great info

Can't wait to get a rock solid date as to when it is going to arrive at JFK....

Has construction begun on the glass enclosure when you where there? The sample concept rendering shows a pretty involved "state-of-the-art exhibition center", but the last PR (11/22) mentions the Shuttle will be placed under "protective covering." Doesn't sound the same to me. Whatever they build, I hope it doesn't look silly.

No, the placement on the deck is temporary (thankfully!). They need to raise 85M in order to build the new building. The plan that was scrapped was to leave it in a hangar at JFK until the new building was ready.

Personally I plan to visit the 'I' BEFORE it gets there as it will just ruin the look of the ship up on top like that.

Look for it to fly into JFK on the SCA at the end of April. NASA has a date of April 12 for Discovery to head to DC, and a target date of April 16 for Enterprise to depart for NYC. There should be a few days when both shuttles are on the ramp outside at UH at IAD. NASA crews are already practicing loading and unloading the shuttles on site using rented cranes and equipment.

There is no mention of the fate of those historic aircraft currently displayed on the Flight Deck. Where will they go? I fear for the fate of the Blackbird, the Harrier and the other historic aircraft. We'd better see them before the Enterprise arrives. Personally, I wanted the Shuttle on Pier 86 but since admission is free; that was scrapped. There was plenty of empty space near the Concorde.

The Discovery is supposed to arrive on top of the B747 at IAD on Tuesday, 4/17/2012. After the removal of the Discovery and the loading of the Enterprise, the B747 is to fly to JFK on Monday, 4/23/2012.

Good news. This week, only 3 historic aircraft were removed from the Flight Deck to make room for the Enterprise. This includes a British F-1, a Russian MIG 15 and a Douglas F-10 Skynight. They will go upstate.

From the Intrepid:


The Intrepid and NASA have discussed the planned movement of the space shuttle Enterprise and the weather forecast for Monday. Because the forecast is poor and unlikely to improve in both the Dulles and JFK Airport areas, the decision was made to cancel the Monday movement of Enterprise to JFK Airport.

It is too early to project a date on which we can have the event as weather projections of course can change. Intrepid and NASA will continue to communicate daily and as soon as forecasts allow we will send you information on the new event date and time.


We look forward to seeing you on the rescheduled arrival date.