![]() ![]() "In contrast with the last exhibition, which was really about telling a story through lightboxes and captive frame grabs all along the walls, this gave us the opportunity to pause and recognize that this pavilion is massive - it's actually about a 19,000-square-foot stage - and people are going to be experiencing it in their own way and their own time," she added. "We had already intended, now that for a year already, to add new content and stories," Charnov explained, adding that the storm-forced redesign provided the opportunity for that expansion. Those objects and more have been incorporated into the newly-opened display. Pearlman)ĭuring the months that Enterprise's pavilion was closed to visitors, the Intrepid set up a temporary exhibit of artifacts and memorabilia aimed at recounting the orbiter's role as a pioneer. Visitors to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum's new "Space Shuttle Pavilion" can come nose-to-nose with Enterprise atop an expanded platform. The space agency intends to hire private space companies to resume U.S.-based manned launches as soon as the new commercial spacecraft become available in 2017. Since then, NASA has relied on Russia's Soyuz to ferry its astronauts to and from the space station. Its return crew included Greg Olsen, who paid his way to orbit as a so-called "space tourist." Olsen now owns the spacecraft and has loaned it to the Intrepid for display.Įnterprise's sister space shuttles were retired to other museums in 2011. The three-seat spacecraft visited the International Space Station in 2005. Moved up from one of the Intrepid's lower decks, Russia's Soyuz TMA-6 capsule sits nearby the much larger shuttle. "We are super excited that we've now brought Soyuz into the pavilion so we can tell the comparative story about the two different space vehicles, which to some extent shared parallel missions," said Charnov. "The expanded viewing platform is to enable the public to get a little bit closer and to accommodate more people at a time," Charnov said.Įnterprise is also no longer the only spacecraft to look at. The new exhibit features a larger platform. The previous pavilion provided a raised-level view as well, but it quickly became crowded. ![]() ![]() Guests desiring a closer view of the orbiter can ascend to an observation platform offering a nose-to-nose encounter with the test shuttle. ![]() It was only used for atmospheric flight tests and ground-based trials. Although constructed with an airframe identical to one of its space-flown sister ships, Enterprise was never made space-worthy. Enterprise itself, is mounted 10 feet (3 meters) above the deck, high enough that visitors can walk underneath it to view its deployed landing gear and mock heat shield tiles. The shuttle pavilion sits on the aircraft carrier's flight deck. that we're recovering from Hurricane Sandy, but also continuing the educational venture that Intrepid is all about." "We are thrilled," Elaine Charnov, Intrepid's vice president of exhibits, told in an interview. Though the fanfare was diminished, the enthusiasm was not, as the Intrepid's curators welcomed the waiting public inside. Wednesday's ribbon cutting for the re-launched attractionincluded only a few local NASA center officials and none of the astronauts who were present for last year's opening. Now, eight months later, Enterprise has returned on public displayin an expanded exhibit and new, metal-supported pavilion. ![]()
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