Enterprise’s last flight before becoming a piece of a museum
The Space Shuttle Enterprise flew over New York City this afternoon in its final flight before it becomes a piece in a museum at the Air and Space museum.
The pace huttle flew over NYC as people bundled up and gathered on rooftops to watch the low-flying aircraft fly over the Statue of Liberty and they cheered. Ten years after 9/11, NCY police department were concerned about a flood of calls coming in about a low flying aircraft, but none were received.
Jennifer Patton was visiting from Ohio said, “It made me feel empowered. I’m going to start crying.” She continued, “I just feel like to have a plane fly that low over the Hudson, right past New York City, and to have everyone cheering and excited about it, shows that we don’t have fear, that we have a sense of ‘This is ours.’”
The space shuttle that flew over NYC eventually turned east and flew over Long Island and then proceeded at Kennedy Airport. A controller at the airport radioed, “Welcome to New York, and thanks for the show.” The space shuttle, after flying over NYC, was welcomed by a clan of cheering school kids who were dressed as astronauts.
The space shuttle over NYC never actually went into space, but was used as a full-scale test vehicle. Chron.com wrote, “It comes to New York as part of NASA’s decision to end the shuttle program after 30 years.”
Air Force Major General Joe Engle, who was in charge of the first flight crew that conducted the first test flight with the Enterprise in the 1970s said, “I am proud that the Enterprise is going to have a great home here. You’ve got a tremendous piece of machinery here.”
