http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/star-treks-uss-enterprise-boldly-go-back...


Paramount Pictures didn’t know what they were giving up 40 years ago when they donated the 135-inch studio model of the U.S.S. Enterprise—the fictional, 23rd century starship at the center of the groundbreaking science fiction series Star Trek—to the Smithsonian.

Though it’s been restored three times already during its stay at the Smithsonian, it’s in need of a major overhaul to return it to something like its original status on the Starfleet duty roster, and that’s finally about to happen. After 13 years in the gift shop, NASM has removed the model from public view for restoration at the Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy center near Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The restoration is expected to take roughly 18 months. When the Enterprise returns to the National Mall, it will at last be given a spot on the downtown Museum’s ground floor. It's new home will be in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall, which will remain open to the public as it is refurbished in preparation for NASM’s 40th anniversary celebrations in 2016.

(An earlier version of this post indicated the Enterprise studio model would be removed for restoration next week. As of September 12th, the model is no longer on public display.)

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