N.Y. museum takes title to space shuttle

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- NASA says it has officially transferred title and ownership of space shuttle Enterprise to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York.

The transfer during a ceremony Sunday was the first step toward Enterprise arriving at the Intrepid museum in the spring of 2012, the agency said in a release.

"The USS Intrepid had a rich history with NASA's mission, and Enterprise -- the pathfinder for the Space Shuttle Program -- belongs in this historic setting," NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden said at the ceremony. "Enterprise, along with the rest of our shuttle fleet, is a national treasure and it will help inspire the next generation of explorers as we begin our next chapter of space exploration."

Enterprise, the prototype vehicle used in NASA's approach and landings tests, will move from the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, where it has been displayed since 1985, to JFK International Airport atop NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

It then will be transported by barge next summer to the Intrepid museum complex at Pier 86 of the Hudson River Park, where it will take its place as a permanent exhibit on the aircraft carrier's flight deck under a protective covering, museum officials said.