- The Enterprise test orbiter moves from the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in NYC.
- Discovery goes to Udvar-Hazy.
- Endeavour to the California Science Center in LA.
- Atlantis, which will fly the last planned shuttle mission in June, will be parked at the Kennedy Space Center.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
THE SPACECRAFT HAS APPARENTLY BEEN TAKEN OVER – "CONQUERED" IF YOU WILL – BY A MASTER RACE OF GIANT SPACE ANTS. IT'S DIFFICULT TO TELL FROM THIS VANTAGE POINT WHETHER THEY WILL CONSUME THE CAPTIVE EARTHMEN OR MERELY ENSLAVE THEM. ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN. THERE IS NO STOPPING THEM; THE ANTS WILL SOON BE HERE: NASA has announced today -- the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle launch (and the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's first manned space flight) -- that its retired Space Shuttle fleet will be displayed permanently as follows:
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What the hell? Nine years in LA, four with kids, and I never knew the California Science Center existed? And it's free. I am a moron.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I get the rationale behind each of the sites, but there really ought to be one shuttle somewhere between the coasts. I probably would have gone LA-DC-Chicago-Houston (I'm assuming that Udvar-Hazy is that place near Dulles, so I'm calling it DC). Smithsonian seems like a natural choice, and DC is obviously the principal destination for educational tourism. Chicago is the most accessible large city for the northern noncoastal US and is itself a giant museum town. I'd give the southern shuttle to Houston because it beats Atlanta on the strength of its NASA connection and because Houston is closer to more territory than Florida. And I'd give one to LA because it would get more visitors than it would if it were in any other city on the west coast. Putting two on the north Atlantic seaboard and another one in Florida, which essentially is a suburb of New Yoston, is exactly the kind of decision you'd think would be made by people who live between DC and Boston.
We got hosed by Manhattan?!? (The others, I see the rationale for.)
ReplyDeleteI think Houston is the big snub here, given the historical ties to the shuttle program and training, and that all it's getting are "Flight deck pilot and commander seats" (not even a simulator or a full fuselage training model). NY and LA are the ones that have the least ties to the program, and there's a strong argument that one belongs on the West Coast. I'd actually reshuffle by giving the Enterprise to LA and giving Endeavour to Houston.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to getting back to LA to see Endeavour. I saw it launch as STS-57 in 1993 when I scammed two VIP passes out of NASA's Congressional Affairs office. 3.5 miles from the pad. It was glorious.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the more I think about it there's no reason for NYC to get a shuttle. It's got more than enough tourist attractions as-is. Houston deserves a world-class attraction like this.
ReplyDeleteNYC got it, I expect, because of the Intrepid, which already has quite a collection and a substantial private endowment, and the facilities to display/maintain it without needing a huge new building. The Houston Chronicle offers a number of other explanations (Houston's bid came in late, and political factors).
ReplyDeleteWho gets Cady Coleman's flute?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeC4nqBB5BM
I am just happy about the ant speech.
ReplyDeleteHouston was robbed! Cmon, it's current home to Gabriel Giffords and Mark Kelly! A Congresswoman and her astronaut! (local news is in a tizzy, I can assure you)
ReplyDeleteI think Kennedy Space Center has a lot of merit as a site, since the launches all took place there.
LA doesn't make much sense, nor NYC, as far as 'space history' the ties are dreadfully thin.
Dayton didn't have a chance, but that museum is quite sweet if my 4th grade self was not mistaken. I guess Boxcar and the Wright Brothers will continue to be their big draw.
I think LA makes sense -- we're close to Edwards Air Force Base where a lot of space shuttle testing was done and where Columbia landed after it's first flight.
ReplyDeleteI don't see what all the complains regarding the NYC decision are about. NASA, and its manned space program, are about exploring the universe, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and expanding mankind's place in the universe.
ReplyDeleteGiven that mission, it only makes sense that at least one orbiter be located in the Center of the Universe.
And do you think that JPL in Pasadena had nothing to do with the shuttle program?
ReplyDeleteNothing to see here in NYC. Stay home, everyone!
ReplyDeleteI'm told that JPL had nothing to do with the shuttle. But it does and did, of course, have a lot to do with the space program in general.
ReplyDelete... so it can orbit itself!
ReplyDelete