FROM: INTREPID SEA, AIR & SPACE MUSEUM
www.intrepidmuseum.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPACE SHUTTLE ENTERPRISE
ADDED TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
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NEW YORK, NY (March 22, 2013) – Space shuttle Enterprise, NASA’s original orbiter, now located at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places as of March 13, 2013, becoming the first orbiter to receive the distinction.
Space shuttle Enterprise is a full-scale test vehicle used for flight tests in the atmosphere and on the ground, and paved the way for the subsequent orbiters in the United States space program. In 2012, Enterprise was transferred to its new permanent home at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.
“We are extremely proud to be the home of the space shuttle Enterprise, and it is an honor to receive this distinction from the National Park Service,” said Susan Marenoff-Zausner, President of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. “We look forward to creating an exciting showcase of the extraordinary history of Enterprise, so that it may continue to educate and inspire the next generation of innovators for years to come.”
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.
Now home of the space shuttle Enterprise, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum complex includes the 900-foot-long aircraft carrier Intrepid; the guided missile submarine Growler; and an extensive collection of 27 aircraft including the A-12 Blackbird, the fastest plane in the world, and the British Airways Concorde, the fastest commercial aircraft in the world. Guests can experience areas of the ship including the Flight Deck, Hangar Deck, fo’c’sle (commonly known as the anchor chain room), new multimedia presentations and exhibit collections, interactive educational stations and a state-of-the-art public pier. Guests can also experience the 12,240 square-foot interactive Exploreum – which contains a variety of hands-on exhibits – that teaches guests about the different properties of the sea, air, space and living at sea as each relates to the ship Intrepid. In the Exploreum, guests can experience a flight simulator, transmit messages using Morse code, sit on the bunk of a crewmember, learn how the Intrepid turned salt water into fresh water and perform various tasks while wearing space gloves.
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