The Space shuttle Enterprise has gone on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City.

Housed in a huge white inflatable dome, the temporary strucutre is being used for the exhibition until a more permanent display is built.

The museum is based on the USS Intrepid, an Essex-class aircraft carrier, moored since 1982 on the west side of Manhattan

The first space shuttle orbiter, when the prototype was made in 1976, Enterpirse stretches 17.4 metres wide and 41.8 metres long, wighing 77,000 kg.

Eric Boehm, curator of aviation and aircraft resotration at the museum, spoke of his delight at exhibiting the piece of space-flight history.

"We're just so excited to have that here. It's an amazing piece of technology and of course it represents the past now. The shuttles are all retired. So, we're very happy to have it here. So, what we really want to see is people come to visit, learn about NASA, learn about the space station, the shuttles of course, their histories here and learn about what's in the future and the cooperation that can be in the future."

Written by Alfred Joyner