The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is a nonprofit educational institution featuring the legendary aircraft carrier Intrepid, the space shuttle Enterprise, the world’s fastest jets and a guided-missile submarine. The Museum takes visitors of all ages and abilities on an interactive journey through history. Its exhibitions, educational programming and collection of technologically groundbreaking aircraft and vessels highlight American innovation and bravery.

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is an American military and maritime history museum with a collection of museum ships in New York City. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood on the West Side of Manhattan. The museum showcases the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, the submarine USS Growler, a Concorde SST, a Lockheed A-12 supersonic reconnaissance plane, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise.

The mission of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is to promote the awareness and understanding of history, science and service through its collections, exhibitions and programming in order to honor our heroes, educate the public and inspire our youth.

The Intrepid Museum was founded in 1982 with the acquisition of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, now a National Historic Landmark, which served tours of duty in World War II and the Vietnam War, and was a recovery vessel for the Gemini and Mercury space missions. The museum closed in 2006 for a two-year renovation of Intrepid and facilities. The museum reopened to the public on November 8, 2008.

History:
The museum opened in 1982 at Pier 86 after Zachary Fisher and his brother Larry Fisher, prominent New York real estate developers, and philanthropist and journalist Michael Stern saved USS Intrepid from scrapping in 1978. Intrepid became a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

On August 8, 1988, this museum was awarded USS Growler, a Grayback-class submarine, which carried the nuclear Regulus missile, by the United States Congress from the United States Navy. This submarine is still on display at the museum after extensive renovations in 2009.

USS Edson, a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer was displayed as an exhibit at the museum from 1989 to 2004. This ship was returned to the United States Navy, and is now on display at the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum in Bay City, Michigan.

In 2001, Intrepid served as temporary field headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation as it began its investigation of the September 11 attacks.

On October 1, 2006, the museum closed for repairs and renovations to the ship and the pier. Intrepid was moved down the Hudson River by tugboat to The Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor, New Jersey (previously the Military Ocean Terminal) to undergo restoration.

The scheduled move was delayed on November 6, 2006, when the ship’s propellers stuck in the thick Hudson River mud, preventing the tugboats from moving the ship out of her berth. A second successful attempt was made on December 5, 2006, after extensive dredging operations. The aircraft carrier was later floated to Staten Island where her museum facilities were upgraded and expanded before returning to her renovated pier in Manhattan.

The carrier was towed back into place on the Hudson River on October 2, 2008, and reopened to the public on November 8. Additional aircraft are displayed on the flight and hangar decks and the British Airways Concorde was moved from a barge into an exhibit space on the pier.

On December 12, 2011, ownership of the Space Shuttle Enterprise was transferred to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. In preparation for the anticipated relocation, engineers evaluated the vehicle in early 2010 and determined that it was safe to fly on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft once again. On April 27, 2012 Enterprise was flown to JFK International Airport and was moved by barge to the Intrepid Museum on 3 June 2012.

To make room for the Enterprise display, three aircraft are being transferred to the Empire State Aerosciences Museum near Schenectady, NY. These aircraft are a Douglas F3D Skyknight, a Royal Navy Supermarine Scimitar, and a MiG-15.

The Enterprise went on public display Thursday, July 19, 2012 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum’s new Space Shuttle Pavilion.

The exhibit was closed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. The pavilion and exhibit reopened on July 10, 2013.

Exhibits
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is dedicated to the exhibition and interpretation of history, science and service as related to its home aboard the aircraft carrier Intrepid, a National Historic Landmark. As you explore the Museum you will be able to examine original artifacts, view historic video footage and explore interactive exhibits.

Aircraft Carrier Intrepid :
Launched in 1943, the former aircraft carrier USS Intrepid fought in World War II, surviving five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike. The ship later served in the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Intrepid also served as a NASA recovery vessel in the 1960s. It was decommissioned in 1974, and today is berthed on the Hudson River as the centerpiece of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Space Shuttle Pavilion:
The Space Shuttle Pavilion showcases the space shuttle Enterprise, the prototype NASA orbiter that paved the way for America’s successful space shuttle program. Seventeen dynamic exhibit zones feature original artifacts, photographs, audio, and films that immerse visitors in the science and history of Enterprise and the space shuttle era.

Submarine Growler:
Growler first opened at the Intrepid Museum in 1989 and is the only American guided missile submarine open to the public. Growler offers visitors a firsthand look at life aboard a submarine and a close-up inspection of the once “top-secret” missile command center.

British Airways Concorde:
The fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing by any Concorde occurred on February 7, 1996 and took only 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. This record-breaking plane—the Concorde Alpha Delta G-BOAD—is on display at the Intrepid Museum’s Pier 86.

Welcoming over one million visitors a year, the Museum includes the Space Shuttle Pavilion, home to Enterprise, the world’s first space shuttle that paved the way for America’s successful Space Shuttle Program. Also on display are 28 authentically restored aircraft, including the Lockheed A-12, the world’s fastest military jet and spy plane, and the British Airways Concorde, the fastest commercial aircraft to ever cross the Atlantic Ocean. Rounding out the Museum are the submarine Growler, the only American diesel-powered strategic missile submarine open to the public, an 18,000 sq. ft. education center, Pier 86, a publicly accessible pier that is part of the Hudson River Park Trust, and the Exploreum, an interactive hall focused on themes of water, space, air and life at sea.