A Note To Parents: We make every effort for Roxanne's blog to be a SAFE site for children. Whenever possible, activities are in pdf format or link to safe sites for children. Please feel free to use the information in these posts for homeschool studies! All rights reserved by author and nature photographer, Virginia Parker Staat.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Space Shuttle Enterprise Flies to New Home

Shuttle Enterprise flies over New York.  Photo courtesy NASA.

The space shuttles are flying to their new homes.  Today, Enterprise took one last flight.  It soared over New York City, piggybacked on top of a 747 jumbo jet.

It is Enterprise's last flight.  Now it will be a museum exhibit.  Enterprise will join other retired NASA space craft at The Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

Enterprise is the first orbiter NASA built.  It never actually flew in space.  It helped NASA scientists discover if the shuttles would really work.  Astronauts also used Enterprise to test shuttle operations.

What will happen to the other space shuttles?  Discovery will go to the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.  Shuttle Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.  Shuttle Atlantis will stay at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

I sure wish the shuttles were still flying into space!

If you would like to learn more about the space shuttles, here's a fun activity book for you to download:
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/156665main_Color_and_Learn.pdf