I saw a spaceship on my lunch break today!

[Flatbedford]

The shuttle Enterprise is being moved to the Intrepid in NYC today. I took a walk over at lunch.

 

[begreen]

Neat. I read they cut a corner too close and clipped a wing on a railroad bridge abutment. How bad was the damage, was it visible?

 

[yooperdave]

Neat. I read they cut a corner too close and clipped a wing on a railroad bridge abutment. How bad was the damage, was it visible?

That figures! How many millions of miles and years of service and then, some clutz on their cell phone......

 

[fossil]

That figures! How many millions of miles and years of service...

Not all that many, actually. Enterprise was devoted to sub-orbital testing. It was never outfitted with engines or heat shielding tiles. Never left the atmosphere. Rick

ETA: That's a big part of the reason the Smithsonian wanted to swap it out for one with more mission history.

 

[Flatbedford]

I couldn't see any evidence of damage. I wasn't very close either.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah those things are impressive. I saw Enterprise at the Udvar Hazy center the day before they opened the place up to the public. They gave military aviation folks old and new the run of the place for the day before the opening crowds hit the next day. Probably to keep the canes and walkers from disturbing the opening.

All I could think staring at it was "Man, that is one huge glider.".

 

[Flatbedford]

Here's some more crappy cell phone pictures.

The "last flight" from barge to Intrepid was probably during act II of today's matinee.
That is one BMF crane!

 

[loon]

Very cool pictures flatbed

loon

 

[ironpony]

when I worked for Grumman, I worked in plant 5. The shuttle wings were built in plant 5, they were huge. they were built standing up as if they were on the shuttle. when they would lay them down all the leftovers would fall inside and rattle and bump around. they would then spend the next weeks cleaning them out, thoroughly.......... one of the first F-14's was lost because of a nut falling into the control stick and jamming it......... FOD very bad. the wings would then be shipped by barge to Cali. where they were attached to the shuttle. they would have to shut down the LIE at 2 in the morning to ship them by truck, laying flat, fron Bethpage to the east end of LI

 

[nsfd95]

Can't wait to take the kids to the Intrepid to check it out.