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Space shuttle Enterprise, NASA's original prototype orbiter, is sitting exposed and appears to have been partially damaged by Hurricane Sandy after the severe storm passed over New York City on Monday night. On public display aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a converted aircraft carrier, since July, Enterprise had been protected from the elements inside a pressurized pavilion. Based on photos posted online, the inflatable structure appears to have first deflated and then been torn by the winds of the now post-tropical storm cyclone.

Explanation: What's that in the background? Two famous New York City icons stand tall in the above photo taken last week. On the left looms the Statue of Liberty, a universal symbol of freedom, while on the right rises the Empire State Building, now the second largest building in the city. What's unique about this once-in-a-lifetime photograph, though, is the third icon that appears to Lady Liberty's left. High in the air and far in the background flies the space shuttle Enterprise -- perched atop a 747 jet -- on the way to its new home. New Yorkers and visitors...

NEW YORK (CBS-New York) -- Space shuttle Enterprise will soon begin its final voyage to its new home in New York City. The shuttle is being airlifted on the back of a 747 from Washington’s Dulles Airport. It will then fly over New York City before landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Enterprise was the first shuttle ever to be built by NASA. It never flew into space, but Enterprise paved the way for others that did. NASA engineers used the Enterprise to figure out how to land a shuttle, launching the glider from the back of a modified...