Enterprise, Space Shuttle prototype at Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Manhattan, United States.
Enterprise is 122 feet (37.2 meters) long and 59 feet (17.9 meters) tall. Its upper surfaces are covered in pale grey and white square tiles, while the underside and nose cap are darker grey. Two small dark windows sit at the front of the raised cockpit, and a small triangular logo appears near the nose on the left side.
Built in 1977, Enterprise served as NASA's first space shuttle orbiter and was used exclusively for atmospheric test flights and ground tests, never flying in space but proving crucial for the shuttle program's development.
Named Enterprise after a successful letter-writing campaign by Star Trek fans, the shuttle's dedication ceremony in 1976 included creator Gene Roddenberry and cast members, linking popular science fiction with real aerospace engineering.
Located at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum at Intrepid Plaza in Manhattan, Enterprise is displayed on the museum's flight deck in a climate-controlled pavilion where visitors can examine it up close.
Enterprise's surface was mostly covered with simulated thermal tiles made of polyurethane foam, with fiberglass leading-edge panels; only a few sample tiles and some Nomex blankets were real. Its landing gear had no hydraulic mechanism: the doors were opened by explosive bolts and the gear dropped by gravity alone.
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