Shuttle Enterprise begins 4-day move

It's moving day -- again -- for space shuttle Enterprise.

Kicking off its four-day move to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on Manhattan's West Side, a crane Saturday will lift the prototype shuttle from its resting place at Kennedy Airport and put it on a barge.

Sunday morning, the Weeks Marine barge will take the Enterprise along the shore of Queens and Brooklyn to Jersey City, N.J.

On Monday, the shuttle will be parked at the Weeks Marine facility in Greenville Yard, Jersey City, while NASA engineers retract the craft's landing gear and move it to a larger barge.

Pulled by a tug, the shuttle barge should pass the Statue of Liberty about 9:50 a.m. Tuesday, and the World Trade Center site around 10:40 a.m., completing the journey at the Intrepid, at West 46th Street and 12th Avenue, around 11:30 a.m.

Bad weather or high winds could cause schedule changes, according to the museum.

Jason Marchioni, of Weeks Marine, said the timing of the move is no accident.

"We're dealing with a lot of tides," Marchioni said. "You need high-water tide to load the shuttle in Bergen Basin, and we need low tide to transfer it under the Cross Bay Bridge."

The shuttle also needs to fit underneath the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge and the Jamaica Bay subway bridge.

The Enterprise's trip up the Hudson River will include a brief stop near the site of the World Trade Center to make "a quiet and respectful salute at Ground Zero," said Susan Marenoff-Zausner, museum president.

Water cannons and fireboats will be part of the Enterprise's pass by the Statue of Liberty, she said.

The public is welcome to gather at Pier 86 to watch as the shuttle is lifted onto the flight deck of the Intrepid.

"We're not having a formal celebration," Marenoff-Zausner said. "This is really about this incredibly fascinating equipment operation."

Public viewing of the Enterprise will begin on July 19 in a temporary, climate-controlled pavilion.

Marchioni's crew pulled the "Miracle on the Hudson" plane from the icy Hudson River after its emergency landing in January 2009. Being the temporary caretaker of a national icon like the shuttle is an honor, he said.

"It's a great job and we're glad to have the opportunity to take part in it," Marchioni said.

Enterprise's final journey

SATURDAY

At Kennedy Airport, a crane will begin loading the shuttle onto a barge in Jamaica Bay at 7:45 a.m. It will take at least three hours.

SUNDAY

Pulled by a tugboat, the barge will travel along the shore of Queens and Brooklyn, passing the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge about 3:30 p.m. and Coney Island about 4:20. It should pass the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge about 5:35.

MONDAY

Enterprise will be parked at Weeks Marine Terminal in Jersey City, N.J., through the day, as final preparations are made.

TUESDAY

At 9:15 a.m., the shuttle will begin its journey through New York Harbor and up the Hudson River. It should pass the Statue of Liberty at 9:50 a.m. and the World Trade Center site at 10:40 a.m. It will complete its journey at the Intrepid museum at 11:30 a.m. A crane will lift the Enterprise onto the flight deck of the Intrepid at Pier 86 on 46th Street and 12th Avenue.