Enterprise is coming to town
Today is one of those days when it's really good to be the boss.
After weather delays, today was the day NASA decided it was safe to move the Space Shuttle Test Vehicle Enterprise to New York City. So I took the morning off, went in to Manhattan, and hung out around Battery Park and Battery City to welcome Enterprise to New York (and to catch my first-and probably last-opportunity to see one of them in the air).
It was wonderful!
As long as I've lived in New York, I keep telling myself that I don't get out often enough, to take advantage of all the City has to offer. I'm glad I made the effort today.
I got off the subway at 9:30, sought a good spot for the viewing, and met up with a couple of professional photographers and a videographer from WPIX who'd found a good, elevated spot out of the worst of the wind. We chatted and enjoyed the morning, waiting the hour and more for the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 905 to fly up from Washington. It was a great location, except that we were back a little from the edge of the park, so there were some trees blocking the view due south. But we knew Enterprise was almost in sight when all the people on the lawn below us started paying attention, all looking south.
And it was magnificent: the gorgeous white 747 underneath the flawless white over black Enterprise, cruising along seemingly inches higher than the Statue of Liberty's torch. I'm still trying to figure out how the Shuttle felt simultaneously so big, and so small. It seemed enormous, and yet the 747 under it was clearly much larger, yet didn't seem big. Whatever it was, it was wonderful.
The twinned aircraft flew past the Statue of Liberty, over the upper harbor, and up the Hudson River, disappearing behind the trees and buildings to the north. But we knew they'd be coming back, so I decided to change my vantage point, and walked down to the water's edge for their return.
The wind closer to the water was much stronger, making it feel very much colder, but at that point, I didn't care: the only part of me that was cold was my fingers holding the camera and binoculars. And we didn't have to wait more than ten or fifteen minutes, before they came into view from the north, heading south along the river, and out over the harbor, once again passing the Statue, and continuing on over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. I have no idea if the people around me continued talking: the mundane world around me disappeared; it was just me watching the twinned craft in flight (and the small, trailing T-38 chase plane). I do remember thinking, "I'm looking at this remarkable vehicle, nothing between me and it but a lot of air." And then immediately realizing, I still have the intervening lenses on my glasses, and however many lenses are in the binoculars. Indeed, with so much technology between us, what really was the difference between watching it on TV and in person? But there's some ineffable quality to actually being present. Whether it's breathing the same air, or experiencing the same environment, I'm not sure, but I certainly felt present, and it was wonderful.
I watched as the craft flew over the Narrows, and then slowly turned west, flying over Staten Island, and into New Jersey, and then turned north again, flying up paralleling the river over eastern New Jersey. Watching the craft fly behind the buildings in Jersey City, and reappearing beyond them, really brought it all down to Earth: that this otherworldly craft was built and managed by Earth people; just a tool to expand our scope and knowledge.
Eventually, they turned back to the east, and passed out of sight behind the buildings on Manhattan, en route to a quick tour of Long Island, and then one last landing at JFK Airport. When I got home and turned on the local news channel, I learned that Leonard Nimoy was present at the arrival ceremonies at the airport, where he spoke of the genesis of the name Enterprise for the vehicle. Lucky him, able to watch the landing. But on the other hand, I saw the Shuttle as it was meant to be: in flight, reaching for the heavens. All he saw was it finally alighting, never again to fly.
My photos don't do it justice. My camera is wonderful for close-ups, but for something this size, at such a great range, I knew I wouldn't get much in the way of photos. But that's okay: the people all around me with massive lenses got the shots, and they're already available all over the web. My pictures are a bit more personal. I'm sharing some of them here, documenting my trip.
I'm very, very glad to have such a happy, positive memory of the Space Shuttle, finally. For as long as I've been involved in space projects, a spaceflight enthusiast, and just a fan, it seems my direct memories of actual connections with the space program are sad. I was in college when the Challenger exploded, and spent the rest of the day reading the wire service reports as they came in to the school newspaper where I was working. In 2003, I was flying to Florida for my cousin's Bar Mitzvah, and pointed out the Shuttle landing strip to other passengers on the plane as we flew past Kennedy Space Center, telling them Columbia would be landing there the next day. She never made it back. So it's almost a relief to have a happy memory, of seeing one of the shuttles in flight as it should be, safely.
Post script: After the Shuttle was out of sight, I could have jumped back on the subway, but since I was in Manhattan, I took the time to enjoy the sights a bit, and indulge some of my other interests, such as history. For instance, this may have been the first time I was able to explore the Castle Clinton National Monument without rushing out again to jump on the boat to the Statue or Ellis Island. And walking away from it, I noticed the flag flying in the wind. I wonder how many people (I imagine it's a rather small number) notice there are only 15 stars, but also 15 stripes, on that flag? That flag was in use from 1795 to 1818, which includes the time Castle Clinton was completed and opened (1811). I've also attached a photo I was able to take with the camera looking through one of the eyepieces of the binoculars; I like the old-time feel of it.
Next up: the Shuttle hangs out at JFK for a couple of months, and then takes a boat ride to the Intrepid Museum in the Hudson. I'm trying to decide how strange it will look, the Space Shuttle Enterprise living on the deck of a World War II aircraft carrier. Temporal dissonance, for sure.
