New Yorkers Turn Out for Docking of a Space Shuttle -- Close Up

There was an impromptu party on Manhattan's West Side yesterday to welcome the space shuttle Enterprise to its new home aboard New York's biggest floating attraction, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Taking advantage of the beautiful spring weather, New Yorkers and tourists alike, flocked to the shoreline on foot, on bicycles, pushing strollers and holding older kids by the hand. They came to watch the Enterprise as it made the final leg of its journey from JFK Airport to midtown. The Enterprise -- yes, it was named after the iconic star ship! -- was built in 1976 as a prototype. It never flew on its own.

The Enterprise had previously resided at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center just outside Washington, D.C., but was moved to New York to make way for the space shuttle Discovery, which was retired following its last flight. In April, the shuttle was ferried by air from Washington to JFK. From there, it was loaded on the barge, sailed past Coney Island and under the Verrazano Bridge to a waypoint in Bayonne, New Jersey.

According to the Intrepid's website:

Weather and tidal conditions were favorable allowing Enterprise to arrive home ahead of schedule. Once safely moored to the craning barge, crews began the tedious task of lifting Enterprise from water level on to the flight deck of the former USS Intrepid. Although it was a slow and steady process, space shuttle Enterprise safely touched down on the flight deck of Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, on schedule, at around 4:30 pm.

I was lucky enough to see the space shuttle pull into its berth purely by chance. I was in New York for the day attending BookExpo America at the Javits Center, a convention hall only a few blocks from the Intrepid. I happened to take a break from the exhibitor's hall just as a TV screen tuned to a local news station was showing video of the Enterprise making its way upriver. I dashed out of the Javits and down to the water's edge, where I joined the festive crowds watching the historic event. As it happened, I was also passing through upstate Waterford, New York just as three Cold War era aircraft that had to be moved to make room for the Enterprise were being carried by barge on the canal to their new home, the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville. Sadly, that time my luck wasn't so great, because I didn't find out why people were lined up along the bridges and riverbanks as I drove through town until I got home that night and turned on the news.

Although we visit New York fairly regularly, my family has never made it to the Intrepid, but with this latest addition we'll be sure to go. Intrepid’s Space Shuttle Pavilion, including Enterprise, will open to the public on July 19th.