A closer look at the space shuttle that never got to space

Ars Technica:

The space shuttle Enterprise has been ensconced aboard the USS Intrepid for just over two years. It sits in a silent warehouse, dramatically lit so it appears to be cruising in a dark vacuum. Tourists can wander around or under it at the exhibit; they can even walk up some stairs and get nose-to-nose with the Enterprise, staring down its long axis through a thick layer of glass.

While the whole thing evokes space exploration, the Enterprise has never actually made it out of Earth’s atmosphere.

I saw the Enterprise at The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution years ago and, even though I’m not a Star Trek geek, I was sad a ship named “Enterprise” never made it into space.