Space Shuttle Enterprise Sets Sail to New Home - East Idaho News
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Space Shuttle Enterprise Sets Sail to New Home

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GETTY N 060612 EnterpriseBarge?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1338984310735Michael Nagle/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Enterprise’s journey to its new home will come to an end on Wednesday when the space shuttle is tugged across New York’s Hudson River to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. The shuttle will depart from the New Jersey marina where it’s been since Sunday on a barge at 10:15 a.m., according to the museum.

The wing of the space shuttle Enterprise was damaged on its journey from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport when the tip of the wing scraped a piling in Jamaica Bay. Though the accident put a damper on the Enterprise’s trip, it did not slow down its progress.

As Enterprise makes its way to its final resting place, it will pass by several landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero. Enterprise traveled a similar path last month when it was flown into John F. Kennedy International Airport from Dulles International Airport atop NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Boeing 747.  The shuttle had been on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

Hundreds lined up across the Hudson River on April 27 to catch a glimpse of the space shuttle flying over.  Over a month later, it was moved to the marina in New Jersey.

Enterprise is expected to reach the Intrepid Wednesday around 12:30 p.m., at which time a crane will begin to lift the space shuttle from the barge on to the retired Navy aircraft carrier’s flight deck.  The transfer will take over four hours to complete.

The museum says Enterprise will be on public display starting July 19.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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