Up Close And Personal With Enterprise, The First Space Shuttle Ever


The Space Shuttle — a wonder of American innovation. Except now the program is dead, and these behemoths are no longer making treks into the great unknown. But that doesn’t make the sight of them any less awe-inspiring.

Yesterday we got a first look at Space Shuttle Enterprise, which has made its near-final landing at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City. It opened up to the public yesterday afternoon, so now you can glimpse the giant yourself too. This ship — NASA’s first — never actually made it into space. However, in 1977 it embarked on important tests around the earth’s atmosphere, thus paving the way for successors like Columbia in 1981. Seeing Enterprise up close was amazing, and the entire beast couldn’t even fit into a single shot. Check it out above.

Video: Michael Hession