Weather Postpones Shuttle Enterprise Flight To New York

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Apr 20, 2012, 04:09 ET

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's planned flight to New York City of space shuttle Enterprise atop the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) has been postponed until further notice due to an unfavorable weather forecast for Monday, April 23.

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To ensure a safe flight for Enterprise and the SCA, NASA managers, in consultation with the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, decided Friday to delay the flight because of inclement weather predicted in both New York and Washington, where the flight will originate.

Managers will continue to review weather forecasts and announce a new flight date as soon as practical.

Media will have access to the public areas at Dulles to view the departure of Enterprise. Media sending crews to Dulles should contact the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Office of Public Affairs at 703-417-8370.

After departing Washington, the SCA and Enterprise will fly over various parts of the New York City metropolitan area before landing and John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Several weeks following the arrival, Enterprise will be "demated" from the 747 and placed on a barge that will be moved by tugboat up the Hudson River to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in June. The shuttle will be lifted by crane and placed on the flight deck of the Intrepid where it will be on exhibit to the public starting this summer in a temporary climate-controlled pavilion. The Intrepid continues work on a permanent exhibit facility to showcase Enterprise that will enhance the museum's space-related exhibits and education curriculum.

For more information about NASA's transfer of space shuttles to museums, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/transition

SOURCE NASA