Space Shuttle Orbiter retirement

[Ankf00]

KSC gets Discovery, Udvar Hazy (Smithsonian Air & Space annex) gets Atlantis, Enterprise is apparently going to NYC :saywhat: Endeavour is being talked about as going to LA:saywhat: and the full size trainer at Johnson is going to Seattle :mad:

[Gnam]

Enterprise is apparently going to NYC :saywhat:

Space Shuttle on an aircraft carrier. America! **** Yeah!
http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/


http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/2431/404696223awjavlph.jpg[/URL]


If LA gets the battleship USS Iowa, they should put Endeavour on its stern.
Space Shuttle on a battleship. Winning!

[Andrew Longman]

The youngest and I just saw Enterprise at Udvar Hazy last weekend.

They had people all over it doing restoration work. Funny thing is I was last there about 8 years ago and they were working on it then. Seems to be about in the same state of "repair" though :confused:

Way cool place. Well worth the haul all the way out to Dulles if you are in DC.:thumbup:

[dando]

They should have showed some love to Houston and John Glenn (Dayton), IMO. :saywhat: :shakehead

-Kevin

[Andrew Longman]

They should have showed some love to Houston and John Glenn (Dayton), IMO. :saywhat: :shakehead

-Kevin

Houston is frankly doing OK with NASA pork spending. ;)

And Ohio (Dayton) has more to do with "air" than "space" IMO.

I don't share anks heartburn with Enterprise to NYC either. Intrepid is a pretty well done museum and gets gobs of visitors. Udvar Hazy sadly not so much. Most people don't even know its there and its almost impossible to get to on mass transit.

I'm a bit torn though about what is more important -- putting them where they made history or putting them where they will be seen and remembered by the most people. Seems important to both honor them and to ensure interest in future space efforts.

[dando]

And Ohio (Dayton) has more to do with "air" than "space" IMO.


:saywhat: Glenn first man in space (US) and oldest man in space, plus Mercury capsule is there. Show me the love. Not to mention first man to walk on the moon is from oHIo. Again, show me the love. :irked:

-Kevin

[EVL29]

Pretty sure Alan Sheppard was first American in space.

[dando]

Pretty sure Alan Sheppard was first American in space.

Correct. I meant to orbit the Earth for the US. Shepard's flight was sub-orbital.

-Kevin

[Andrew Longman]

Again, show me the love. :irked:

-Kevin

Alright.

Love

Feel better?

I guess I just thought that Ohio had shot its wad with it license plate legal war with NC over "First in Flight" vs. "Birthplace of Flight". Pretty sensitive I guess. ;)

Your football team still cheats.

[Al Czervik]

Not to mention first man to walk on the moon is from oHIo. Again, show me the love. :irked:

-Kevin

But he had to go to Purdue to get a great education!

[Steve99]

If LA gets the battleship USS Iowa, they should put Endeavour on its stern.
Space Shuttle on a battleship. Winning!
Space Shuttle on a battleship: Confusing kids is fun!

[racer2c]

Space Shuttle on a battleship: Confusing kids is fun!

There's the rub...it's not a 'battleship" it's a 'humanitarian peace zone maritime vessel'. ;)

[TKGAngel]

:saywhat: Glenn first man in space (US) and oldest man in space, plus Mercury capsule is there. Show me the love. Not to mention first man to walk on the moon is from oHIo. Again, show me the love. :irked:

-Kevin

Lighten up, Francis. ;)

Is it possible that there is no room at the proverbial inn in Dayton and that's why they aren't getting a shuttle? If the Air Force One's are relegated to a separate area of the base, I could imagine that a shuttle would have to require a separate, similar sized storage area.

[EDwardo]

I'm glad to hear that KSC is getting Discovery. I visited the Center last week. It currently has a non flyable test model but the Center deserves the real thing.

[KLang]

Slap in the face to Houston and NASA in general. :yuck: Totally expected from the current group in DC. :yuck:

[Ankf00]

Houston is frankly doing OK with NASA pork spending. ;)

And Ohio (Dayton) has more to do with "air" than "space" IMO.

I don't share anks heartburn with Enterprise to NYC either. Intrepid is a pretty well done museum and gets gobs of visitors. Udvar Hazy sadly not so much. Most people don't even know its there and its almost impossible to get to on mass transit.

I'm a bit torn though about what is more important -- putting them where they made history or putting them where they will be seen and remembered by the most people. Seems important to both honor them and to ensure interest in future space efforts.

the intrepid and the city and state of new york have absolutely nothing to do with space. it's a bloody ship. we don't set up the king tut exhibit in the middle of times square just b/c that's where the largest mass of tourists will be. nevermind there's already one a few hours down the road and another orbiter down the coast.

the orbiters belong at Udvar Hazy, KSC, JSC, and Huntsville MSFC, the places tourists actually visit for space, the places that built the program from the ground up. I don't go to the American Museum of Natural History, to see a Rembrant, I go to an art museum, similarly people visit KSC and Space Center Houston/JSC for the space program, and MSFC for space camp. for geographic diversity replace Wright-Patterson w/ MSFC.

seattle I can almost buy but even then I don't. LA, as a region, better case than seattle & nyc, but the orbiters haven't been in construction there for decades. NYC is an absolute joke, however. "houston, tranquility base here...", JSC is manned space flight hq, JSC is home to the astronaut corps, JSC is where all the mission equipment is designed, tested, and certified, JSC has space center houston, JSC has rocket park w/ a saturn V and other early NASA rockets.

[nrc]

For some reason I'm not too bothered by where they end up. I guess I'm too depressed over the general state of our space program to worry about where the cast-offs end up.

[Ankf00]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/12/space.shuttle.new.homes/index.html?hpt=T1



The center hasn't hired an architect yet to design the facility and is now planning a fundraiser, he said.


:flame::flame::flame:


The shuttle really is a program initiated here in Houston," said George Abbey (http://www.bakerinstitute.org/personnel/fellows-scholars/gabbey), former director of Johnson Space Center from 1996 to 2001. "We're the ones who came up with the concept. We designed it. We tested it. We operated it. Certainly Houston ought to be number one on the list."

http://jalopnik.com/#!5791359/houston-deserved-a-damn-space-shuttle


I think a statement from the family members of the astronauts who were lost in the Columbia and Challenger accidents sums it up well:

"We are heartbroken to learn of the decision that the space shuttle will not be allowed to return home to Houston. Home is where the heart is, and Houston has served as the heart of the space shuttle program since its inception nearly four decades ago. All the astronauts lost were Houston residents

We had prayed that the incredible sacrifices this community has endured would have allowed the shuttle's legacy to continue here.

[Andrew Longman]

I'm glad to hear that KSC is getting Discovery. I visited the Center last week. It currently has a non flyable test model but the Center deserves the real thing.

I read they plan to hang it upside down with the doors open and robot arm extended (as in orbit). Cool. :)

[Gnam]

Give Endeavour to Houston. **** LA.

Take the trainer from JSC, put it on the USS Hornet in San Francisco.
Space Shuttle on an aircraft carrier, two times!

http://www.uss-hornet.org/

The Hornet actually has a connection to the space program. It was the ship that recovered Apollo 11 & 12, the first moon landing missions.

[Andrew Longman]

Ank I won't convince you otherwise but the Intrepid museum is already a very substantial Air and Space museum with a great collection. NYC is arguably the most visited city on the planet and the museum is a huge success. I don't know how they plan to display it but that was part of the decision making process (along with the ability to pay to move and maintain it)

Sorry Houston didn't get it, but a whole lot more people will see it, and pay to see it, in NYC than Houston.

[Ankf00]

none of which are convincing reasons to house it in NYC. the intrepid has 0 space relevance, it's an aircraft carrier, and it does not have an impressive space collection. flaunting political and financial muscle to trump up a tourist trap doesn't change that. space center houston is privately funded and has been for over a decade as they've helped maintain a collection of all of NASA's rockets from Redstone to Saturn V. This is a national treasure, one which NYC has absolutely 0 claim to, wall street's 'we're doing god's work' attitude notwithstanding.

and no, when CA doesn't even have a plan for their shuttle facility & display, the plan to display an orbiter had absolutely 0 bearing on the award. this was 100% crony politics, and NASA JSC was redistricted to be drowned into Sugar Land's R-dominant district in a state where the senators and gov will never be blue again

[KLang]

Hopefully congress can fix this at some point.

[Andrew Longman]

the intrepid has 0 space relevance, it's an aircraft carrier, and it does not have an impressive space collection. Hmmm.
Intrepid was a recovery ship for Mercury and Gemini missions. NYC has almost nothing to do with ANYTHING on the ship, but it is an air and space HISTORY museum. A Concord and Blackbird are there because they are history, not because they have something to do with the carrier. The carrier itself is history -- a great history. Enterprise is history.

The museum is in NYC to allow upwards of 10 million people to learn and experience the history

And it too is a private not for profit organization.

Sorry about Houston (really), but the Intrepid isn't an awful evil choice. Endeavor going to LA makes less sense to me (especially over Houston) except for putting one on the left coast, which IMO should be way down on the list of considerations.

(and don't be so sure about TX not ever going blue again. ;) )

[datachicane]

You do recognize the irony in suggesting cronyism and politics had a role in the apparent slighting of JSC, don't you?

[Ankf00]

Atlantis going to KSC has nothing to do with cronyism, it's where it belongs, the site and the orbiter are 50+ years of american aeronautical history, same as JSC.

longman, point remains, the intreprid has 0 space collection, the concorde and blackbird have 0 to do with the manned space flight program outside of craft being built in Palmdale. the orbiter belongs with mission control, saturn v, the astronaut centrifuge, mercury, gemini, and apollo capsules, moon lander, moon rover, etc. not on a dock next to an aircraft carrier, this isn't epcot center

[Don Quixote]

Andrew, sorry, I hate to say this but Ank is 100% right. :cringe: :D

[Elmo T]

I've been to the USAF Museum at WPAFB, both of the Smithsonian's, and KSC - never saw a need to go to the Intrepid.

For AL - have you been over here to the museum at WGJRB?:

http://wingsoffreedommuseum.org/

Also, they are opening up the centrifuge at the old NADC site for tours again - I really need to get over there!

Original Gondola returning to NADC (http://warminster.patch.com/articles/gondola-used-to-train-mercury-astronauts-coming-back-to-warminster)

[Ankf00]

Andrew, sorry, I hate to say this but Ank is 100% right. :cringe: :D

hrm, well I guess I'll cross your name off my master list now :p

[Elmo T]

not on a dock next to an aircraft carrier, this isn't epcot center

Hey, don't diss Disney! ;):laugh:

It would be in a cleaner place with better weather and better attendance. :thumbup:

And what happens when Intrepid rots away?

[Andrew Longman]

Andrew, sorry, I hate to say this but Ank is 100% right. :cringe: :DI'm not anti Houston, just pointing out the Intrepid is not an awful choice. It does have a Mercury trainer capsule and exhibits and regular seminars on space, including Intrepids history as part of the space program.


I've been to the USAF Museum at WPAFB, both of the Smithsonian's, and KSC - never saw a need to go to the Intrepid.It is a great museum. I had the pleasure of a private tour with a combat veteran of the ship from WWII, so I might be a little biased.;)


For AL - have you been over here to the museum at WGJRB?:Yup. Pretty cool.


Also, they are opening up the centrifuge at the old NADC site for tours again - I really need to get over there!

Original Gondola returning to NADC (http://warminster.patch.com/articles/gondola-used-to-train-mercury-astronauts-coming-back-to-warminster)I actually saw a display about that at the Smithsonian last week and recalled reading in the paper that they were opening it. I'll have to hit it.

[Andrew Longman]

And what happens when Intrepid rots away?They'll restore it again, just as they just finished doing when they towed it over to Jersey... with private funds. ;) http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/Restoration_USS_Intrepid.html

[racer2c]

I'd pay to see a shuttle on the deck of the Intrepid along with a Civil War reenactment. Folks could tour the inside of the shuttle to see how Confederate soldiers used it for shelter during the battle of Little Big Horn. Inside the Intrepid don't miss the musical montage "History Through Music" performed by animatronic version of George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Brittany Spears.

[Opposite Lock]

I'd pay to see a shuttle on the deck of the Intrepid along with a Civil War reenactment. Folks could tour the inside of the shuttle to see how Confederate soldiers used it for shelter during the battle of Little Big Horn. Inside the Intrepid don't miss the musical montage "History Through Music" performed by animatronic version of George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Brittany Spears.

:D

That reminded me of:
3Z2vU8M6CYI

First-hand records are certainly scarce. There's a lot we don't know about The Beatles, but we do know that these four young men -- John Lennon, Paul MacKenzie, Greg Hutchinson, and Scottie Pippen -- were some of the finest musicians that ever existed. The Beatles rose to prominence when they travelled from their native Linverton to America to perform at Ed Sullivan's annual Woodstock festival.

[Don Quixote]

I'd pay to see a shuttle on the deck of the Intrepid along with a Civil War reenactment. Folks could tour the inside of the shuttle to see how Confederate soldiers used it for shelter during the battle of Little Big Horn. Inside the Intrepid don't miss the musical montage "History Through Music" performed by animatronic version of George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Brittany Spears.I agree. Also, the Ellis Island Museum should be moved to Amarillo, the Washington Crosses the Delaware statue should be erected in Idaho and the 9-11 memorial should be constructed in Mexico City. :)

[Ankf00]

9-11 should go to London, with all the historic memorials already there, such as Trafalger square, and with London's history and current state as the world's capital, it is obviously a fantastic choice for the memorial :gomer:

[G.]

I'd pay to see a shuttle on the deck of the Intrepid along with a Civil War reenactment. Folks could tour the inside of the shuttle to see how Confederate soldiers used it for shelter during the battle of Little Big Horn. Inside the Intrepid don't miss the musical montage "History Through Music" performed by animatronic version of George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Brittany Spears.

Add cavemen fighting dinosaurs, and I'm there!

[racer2c]

Add cavemen fighting dinosaurs, and I'm there!

Yes! The female cave dwellers will be accurately portrayed as they were in the historical documentary, 'One Million Years B.C'.
There should be a nod to the group of monkeys that killed each other with clubs so that the computer H.A.L. could go to space...in the shuttle. :)

[Gnam]

I'd pay to see a shuttle on the deck of the Intrepid along with a Civil War reenactment. Folks could tour the inside of the shuttle to see how Confederate soldiers used it for shelter during the battle of Little Big Horn. Inside the Intrepid don't miss the musical montage "History Through Music" performed by animatronic version of George Washington, Thomas Edison, and Brittany Spears.

:D :thumbup:

[Ankf00]

Add cavemen fighting dinosaurs, and I'm there!

sorry, have to go to Kentucky or Kansas for that brand of museum

[TKGAngel]

Add cavemen fighting dinosaurs, and I'm there!

An episode of Eleventy Jabillion Kids and Still Procreating focused on a trip to a museum that featured Adam & Eve riding dinosaurs.

And not to get too off topic, a subsidiary of a local company is building the shuttle stuff at KSC. They're hoping for a groundbreaking in 2012, with completion in 2013.

[NismoZ]

Probably beat the Ground Zero buildout by a few years!

[EDwardo]

There is a lively blog discussing the decision to omit Houston from the sites receiving a retired shuttle.
http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2011/04/houston_weve_had_a_problem_space_city_snubbed_in_b .html

I find it interesting that there are some who believe the omission of Houston was a political decision since it is well documented that the choice of Houston as the location of the Manned Flight Center was itself political.


The Johnson Space Center, however, could have been built in any number of places, and sites around the nation were considered, said Christopher Kraft, who served as a flight director in the early days of the space program. The program had been managed from Virginia at first.
“The reason we came here was because Albert Thomas (Houston’s powerful longtime congressman) was head of the Appropriations Committee,” Dr. Kraft said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/science/space/13storm.html

[Andrew Longman]

I'd pay to see a shuttle on the deck of the Intrepid along with a Civil War reenactment...OK. I'll stop. :rolleyes::gomer::\

[Don Quixote]

:D

[Ankf00]

There is a lively blog discussing the decision to omit Houston from the sites receiving a retired shuttle.
http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2011/04/houston_weve_had_a_problem_space_city_snubbed_in_b .html

I find it interesting that there are some who believe the omission of Houston was a political decision since it is well documented that the choice of Houston as the location of the Manned Flight Center was itself political.


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/science/space/13storm.html

every state facility anywhere is politically located, NASA's spread across the country so as to garner maximum amount of congressional votes for their efforts.

but when CA doesn't even have a facility design and still has to go hire an architect, don't tell me the strength of the proposal mattered

[Andrew Longman]

every state facility anywhere is politically located, NASA's spread across the country so as to garner maximum amount of congressional votes for their efforts.Sort of. http://www.nasa.gov/about/sites/index.html More the case with military installations and defense contractors, but point taken

You're forgetting or minimizing that NASA's Houston facility is there entirely because LBJ wanted it there. He twisted and broke arms to make it happen as a TX Senator.

Given that the shuttle WAS manned space flight for 30 years I agree that Houston should have a shuttle.

Especially over LA :tony:

[Don Quixote]

Hey Andrew:


OK. I'll stop. :rolleyes::gomer::\

:D :p

[nrc]

Eventually one of these will become more trouble than it's worth and someone will have to pay a lot of money to move it to a new location. The NY and LA locations are the most likely offenders.

Based on the plans shown here (http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-080210c.html), I'm disappointed at the NY choice. It really shouldn't be considered sufficient to display the shuttle in a non-climate controlled environment. (ditto the SR71 they have on the deck, BTW).

Correction, it's an A12 that they have on deck. In any case, rare and important museum pieces should be displayed in a climate controlled environment - not under a giant car port by the sea.

[Ankf00]

the shuttle was designed for salt fog galvanic corrosion resistance, duh.

[chop456]

the shuttle was designed for salt fog galvanic corrosion resistance, duh.

Was it designed for hair gel and Axe Body Spray resistance?

[nrc]

the shuttle was designed for salt fog galvanic corrosion resistance, duh.

Check back with me in 20 years.

[Ankf00]

missing from my last post:
[/sarcasm]

[Don Quixote]

Was it designed for hair gel and Axe Body Spray resistance?:rofl:

[nrc]

missing from my last post:

Wondered about that. :gomer:

[Ankf00]

"we're doing god's work"


leNsvK9V8PA

you'd think he'd be occupied passing measures to hide the Fed from FOIA requests, pretty sure those constituents pay a hell of a lot more than the Intrepid ones...

[Ankf00]

although when considering it in retrospect, the intrepid board members are probably, as a day job, in charge of the same thieving conglomerates robbing the rest of us

[JoeBob]

Late to this party, but Wayne Hale (a long time shuttle flight director) broke down why Houston didn't get a shuttle pretty well: http://waynehale.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/why-houston-did-not-get-a-shuttle/

(Wayne's blog is awesome. If you're sad about the state of the space program, you will LOVE this post: http://waynehale.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/space-architecture/ - but read them all, he's captured some amazing stories)

Also, take a look at how Houston has cared for their Saturn V. It's in a metal shed, with almost nothing to support it. They've not shown that they know how to attract the public to the stuff they have. And they didn't ask for much else. So, Houston is getting a set of seats. (Not kidding!)

[Andrew Longman]

Great link JoeBob.


No, with the level of interest that our citizens and leaders have in JSC, I soon expect to see that facility in the hands of a different federal agency. Soon the National Park Service will be leading tours through the historic – and empty – halls of the Johnson Space Center National Historic Site.That too would be funded by federal, not local dollars.

Maybe Schumer should have said that given NY gets back only .81 for every dollar it sends to Washington, NY actually bought the shuttle and deserve it. ;)

The Intrepid Museum will actually building a nice climate controlled home for Enterprise.

[Ankf00]

Late to this party, but Wayne Hale (a long time shuttle flight director) broke down why Houston didn't get a shuttle pretty well: http://waynehale.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/why-houston-did-not-get-a-shuttle/

(Wayne's blog is awesome. If you're sad about the state of the space program, you will LOVE this post: http://waynehale.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/space-architecture/ - but read them all, he's captured some amazing stories)

Also, take a look at how Houston has cared for their Saturn V. It's in a metal shed, with almost nothing to support it. They've not shown that they know how to attract the public to the stuff they have. And they didn't ask for much else. So, Houston is getting a set of seats. (Not kidding!)

read his analysis, and it's bunk when considering LA has no proposal, yet their bid was granted. the only proposal that should've been required by KSC and JSC should consist of "Hi."

as for the state of rocket park and the Saturn V housing, that's under the control of NASA & Bolden/Griffin/O'Keefe, Space Center Houston and Manned Space Flight Educational Foundation have 0 control over that. The apollo, gemini, mercury capsules, moon rover, etc. are not sitting out in the open as those are at SCH and operated and funded by MSFEF

[Ankf00]

That too would be funded by federal, not local dollars.

just like NYC's and NY State's biggest industry? cool.

[Indy]

It seems to me that this whole argument makes a nice symbolic statement about where we are as a country. We sit around and argue about who gets the tourism dollars from displays of past accomplishments while I try to figure out how to tell my son that he will not realize the dream of being an astronaut because our country will not have a meaningful manned space program in the near future.

[racer2c]

It seems to me that this whole argument makes a nice symbolic statement about where we are as a country. We sit around and argue about who gets the tourism dollars from displays of past accomplishments while I try to figure out how to tell my son that he will not realize the dream of being an astronaut because our country will not have a meaningful manned space program in the near future.

OMG!!! I actually agree with you on something!!!!:eek:

[JoeBob]

Don't be so sure about the meaningful manned space flight stuff. The ISS is super cool, and can (and will) serve as a research base for quite some time. As for getting to and from the ISS, yesterday's CCDEV2 announcement makes a couple of options look really good: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/04/four-companies-win-nasas-ccdev-2-awards/

As for going beyond Low Earth Orbit - that continues to look unlikely. And that's unfortunate. But, there's meaningful spaceflight to be had in LEO.

[racer2c]

So the wife and I decided we're going over to the launch. Any recommendations on where to watch from?

[dando]

So the wife and I decided we're going over to the launch. Any recommendations on where to watch from?

If you don't have tix for the KSC spots, Space View Park in Titusville is a prime location from what I've read. Get there VERY early.

-Kevin

[racer2c]

If you don't have tix for the KSC spots, Space View Park in Titusville is a prime location from what I've read. Get there VERY early.

-Kevin

Hmmm. No tix. Nasa lists these areas for viewing; Maybe I'll take my boat over.

From North to South

Marina Park, 501 Marina Road, Titusville -- Restrooms, parking

Sand Point Park, 101 N. Washington Ave, Titusville -- Restrooms, parking

Space View Park, 8 Broad Street, Titusville -- Parking nearby

Manzo Park, 3335 S. Washington Ave (US 1), Titusville -- Restrooms, parking

Rotary Riverfront Park, 4141 S. Washington Ave (US 1), Titusville -- Restrooms, parking

Kennedy Point Park, 4915 S. Washington Ave (US 1), Titusville -- Restrooms, parking

Westbound SR 528 Causeway over the Banana River Park well off the right-of-way near the water

Jetty Park, East end of Port Canaveral off George King Blvd. -- Restrooms, parking

Cocoa Beach Pier, 401 Meade Ave., Cocoa Beach -- Restrooms, parking

Alan Shepard Park, East end of SR 520, Cocoa Beach -- Restrooms, parking

Fischer Park, East side of SR A1A 1/2 mile south of SR 520 -- Restrooms, parking

Lori Wilson Park, 1500 N. Atlantic Ave, Cocoa Beach -- Restrooms, parking

[Indy]

OMG!!! I actually agree with you on something!!!!:eek:

As your friend I strongly suggest you get yourself checked out.

[KLang]

Don't be so sure about the meaningful manned space flight stuff. The ISS is super cool, and can (and will) serve as a research base for quite some time. As for getting to and from the ISS, yesterday's CCDEV2 announcement makes a couple of options look really good: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/04/four-companies-win-nasas-ccdev-2-awards/

As for going beyond Low Earth Orbit - that continues to look unlikely. And that's unfortunate. But, there's meaningful spaceflight to be had in LEO.

I have a hard time believing that thoughts of riding a Russian Soyuz to the ISS are going to inspire the next generation of astronauts. :irked:

[JoeBob]

Take a close look at what Elon Musk is doing with SpaceX. It's pretty inspiring stuff. With the CCDEV2 $$ they just got, they say they're about 3 years away from putting humans into a Dragon capsule.

Pretty awesome, if you ask me! (Even more awesome: The Falcon Heavy!)

[Gnam]

Know your Shuttle locations:

Discovery to Smithsonian.
Atlantis to Kennedy Space Center.
Endeavour to LA.
Enterprise currently at the Smithsonian to NY.

Photos of Discovery being delivered.
(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/n/a/2012/04/17/national/a080736D93.DTL&object=%2Fn%2Fp%2F2012%2F04%2F17%2F8a6f3176-860d-4e09-ba63-ed636cea5ef0.jpg)

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2596/b05591fd600a4ac68a9ae9d.jpg

[cameraman]

Saturday morning, hopefully.


It sounds like a routine event for NASA: At 4:55 a.m. on Saturday, a rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and carry cargo — but no people — to the International Space Station.

But if all goes as planned, that morning will mark something transformative for the space industry: a victory for capitalism in what has been for decades a government-run enterprise. The capsule, built by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation — SpaceX, for short — would be the first commercial spacecraft to make it to the space station, and many observers view its launching as the starting gun in an entrepreneurial race to turn space travel into a profit-making business in which NASA is not necessarily the biggest customer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/science/space/contracts-help-private-sector-edge-deeper-into-space.html

[TravelGal]

Gnam: ONE of them, I couldn't catch which one, is currently (was on 5/7/12) still sitting atop its 747 in a hangar at JFK. If only I'd been on the right side of the plane (literally and figuratively), I could have gotten a picture. Something you'll never see again............

[dando]

Gnam: ONE of them, I couldn't catch which one, is currently (was on 5/7/12) still sitting atop its 747 in a hangar at JFK. If only I'd been on the right side of the plane (literally and figuratively), I could have gotten a picture. Something you'll never see again............

That would be Enterprise, which was recently moved from DC to NYC, and will be moved to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum for display next month.


After the Enterprise is delivered to JFK, it will be moved via tugboat up the Hudson River to its new home at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Its arrival there is scheduled for sometime in June, and will involve another spectacle: The Enterprise will be hoisted, via crane, to the deck of the legendary carrier Intrepid. The 900-foot-long aircraft carrier was pressed into duty during World War II and the Vietnam War and also served as a recovery vessel for NASA's space program. The ship, which was retired in 1974, is the crown jewel of the museum; it's also on the National Park Service’s National Historic Landmark register.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-space-shuttle-enterprise-20120427,0,1595859.story

-Kevin

[Methanolandbrats]

Since it's gotta live in NYC, they should make the inside into a deli. They could serve space food along side the corned beef and dogs. :thumbup:

[stroker]

Since it's gotta live in NYC, they should make the inside into a deli. They could serve space food along side the corned beef and dogs. :thumbup:

What mixers go with Tang?

[Don Quixote]

What mixers go with Tang?Clear spirits only: gin, vodka, tequilla and moonshine. :gomer:

[SteveH]

and everclear :D

[dando]

This Old House: VAB Style (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2114910,00.html?hpt=hp_t2)


Spigots and pumps for the fire control system — which was up to code in 1966 but falls short of modern standards — will be removed and replaced next year.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2114910,00.html#ixzz1v36mLu46


Elmo gives :thumbup: :thumbup:

;)

-Kevin

[Don Quixote]

and everclear :D
My apologies. I forgot about you Hoosiers and your love affair with ethanol. :p

[cameraman]

The Dragon capsule system seems to be working as it was planned. Looks like they will try docking Friday as long as the remaining maneuvering tests go well.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j89pYRoGukaBWcSFb-YZjaxzP_mg?docId=CNG.2a8f1c6c6ae3e9293d9ab2d9d9238 115.771

[dando]

The Dragon capsule system seems to be working as it was planned. Looks like they will try docking Friday as long as the remaining maneuvering tests go well.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j89pYRoGukaBWcSFb-YZjaxzP_mg?docId=CNG.2a8f1c6c6ae3e9293d9ab2d9d9238 115.771

Well pseudo docking since they will park it 32' from the ISS and let the robot arm do the tricky docking stuff.

-Kevin

[Gnam]

Cool.

If they use the Dragon capsule for crew transport, will it still take 72 hours to reach the station? The Soyuz could do it in two days, the Shuttle in a day and a half.

[dando]

Cool.

If they use the Dragon capsule for crew transport, will it still take 72 hours to reach the station? The Soyuz could do it in two days, the Shuttle in a day and a half.

They have to show NASA they can parallel park, etc., so i don't think it will take as long for future trips.

-Kevin

[dando]

Dragon done docked. Boogity.

-Kevin

[chop456]

Well pseudo docking since they will park it 32' from the ISS and let the robot arm do the tricky docking stuff.

-Kevin

The Dragon must be a chick.

:runs:

[Opposite Lock]

That would be Enterprise, which was recently moved from DC to NYC, and will be moved to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum for display next month.

That was cool:
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/3346/enterpriseon747.jpg :thumbup:

[Don Quixote]

^^^ I can tell that's a 'shop.

[dando]

^^^ I can tell that's a 'shop.

Yeah. The buildings are a dead giveaway. :gomer: :D

-Kevin

[Gnam]

excellent. :thumbup: but totally fake.


This photo taken during the construction of the Enterprise clearly shows the true scale.

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5559/enter747.jpg

[Gnam]

Photos of the Shuttle Enterprise being towed to the Intrepid Museum.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Enterprise-Shuttle-Barge-New-York-Harbor-156910205.html

[TravelGal]

I have concluded that the best search engine is not google or ask or even YouTube. It's OC. Whatever I'm looking for, I find right here. Thanks, Gnam. :thumbup: But whaazat on its butt?

[dando]

I have concluded that the best search engine is not google or ask or even YouTube. It's OC. Whatever I'm looking for, I find right here. Thanks, Gnam. :thumbup: But whaazat on its butt?

Poop bag. :gomer: Cover for the engines for her flight from DC to NYC. Dunno that Enterprise ever had real engines on it since she was only used as a prototype and for glide/flight testing. This is what she looked like on display in DC:

http://www.getintravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/space-shuttle-enterprise-at-the-national-air-and-space-museum-in-Washington-DC-1600x1011.jpg

-Kevin

[nrc]

I heard they already broke it.

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-060412a.html#g

http://www.collectspace.com/images/news-060412c.jpg

[Napoleon]

Cover for the engines for her flight from DC to NYC. Dunno that Enterprise ever had real engines on it since she was only used as a prototype and for glide/flight testing. This is what she looked like on display in DC:

1) even if it didn't have engines my geuss is that the cover is less for protection and more for keeping the 747/Shuttle combo being an aerodynamic wreck and 2) if it didn't have real engines it must have had something in it that exactly mimiced the weight distribution of real engines otherwise wouldn't the glide tests be pretty useless?

[SteveH]

Whenever a Shuttle was ferried the engine enclosure was used. Here's (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/609172main_EC91-659-2.jpg)a rather large picture of mounting a Shuttle on the 747 at Edwards AFB.

[Napoleon]

Whenever a Shuttle was ferried the engine enclosure was used. Here's (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/609172main_EC91-659-2.jpg)a rather large picture of mounting a Shuttle on the 747 at Edwards AFB.

Imagine the cover is not on and how the air would be totally screwed up coming off the Shuttle as it passed over the elevators (which as it is are modified likely because of the changed airflow).

[Gnam]

I heard they already broke it.

jeez-louise. :shakehead

[Napoleon]

By the way, isn't it Fleet Week in NYC? Does anyone know if they timed the delivery to coincide with it?

[Gnam]

Whenever a Shuttle was ferried the engine enclosure was used. Here's (http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/609172main_EC91-659-2.jpg)a rather large picture of mounting a Shuttle on the 747 at Edwards AFB.

That's cool. I always wondered how they lifted it up there.

that frame is located at coordinates: 34.958677,-117.883848, which is the boondocks of Edwards AFB.
Wonder if they'll leave it in place?

[edit] if you scroll to the right, you can seem them prepping that huge new drone Phantom Eye.
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-boeing-spy-drone-phantom-20120604,0,3627487.story