Space Shuttle Enterprise is headed for a landing in New York.
The Intrepid Air and Space Museum is one of four museums in the country to be given a Space Shuttle for display, Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced today.
Enterprise will be displayed in a big glass enclosure to be constructed on the end of Pier 86. Intrepid museum officials believe it could draw 1 million tourists a year.
Twenty cities competed for the four surviving space shuttles. One will stay at Kennedy Space Center in Florida; one is going to Los Angeles and the third will be displayed by the Smithsonian in suburban Washington.
Enterprise — named after the spaceship on the TV show Star Trek — was built in 1976.
Though it never went into space, Enterprise was used in several flight tests, in which it was carried aloft by a Boeing 747 and then glided to a landing.
It was also used for astronaut training.
In 1985, Enterprise was moved to the Smithsonian. It’s expected to be ready for display next to the Intrepid next year.
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