@ New York, NY
August 2018
Taken during my first visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Rolled out on September 1976, this vehicle was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test flights after launching from a modified Boeing 747. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, thus it was not capable of spaceflight. Originally, Enterprise had been intended to be refitted for orbital flight to become the second space-rated orbiter in service. However, during the construction of Columbia, changes in design details prevented this. Similarly, Enterprise was considered for refit to replace Challenger after the latter was destroyed, but Endeavour was built from structural spares instead.
This Shuttle was originally planned to be named Constitution and was unveiled on Constitution Day, September 17, 1976. President Gerald Ford directed NASA officials to change the name to Enterprise after a letter writing campaign by fans of Star Trek. Enterprise has been on display here at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum since July 2012. Enterprise was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 13, 2013 (ref no. 13000071).
