posted 12-16-2009 11:52 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by thump:
...does length of runway, and weight come in to play?

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For example, the Air Force Museum has its own runway as a legacy of its Wright Field origins, but it was designed for WWII-era (and earlier as a grass strip) aircraft, so it currently isn't up to spec for a shuttle/SCA combo landing there. That's how most of the flying aircraft make it to the museum (like a C-141 recently). I heard that the SCA could fit with some runway upgrades or else waivers of the landing safety margins.

posted 01-15-2010 05:46 PM               

NASA Revises Cost and Schedule for Displaying Retired Shuttles

NASA has issued a follow-up Request for Information, or RFI, for ideas from education institutions, science museums and other appropriate organizations about the community's ability to acquire and publicly display orbiters after the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program.

The original RFI in December 2008 noted that a potential shuttle recipient would have to pay an estimated $42 million for the cost of "safeing" an orbiter, preparing it for display and ferrying it to a U.S. destination airport. NASA has updated the requirements and tasks needed to make each orbiter safe for disposition. The agency will not ask recipients to provide the funds for this activity. Except for cost and scheduled delivery changes, the 2008 and 2010 RFIs are virtually the same. In this follow-up RFI, NASA revised the estimated display preparation and ferrying costs to $28.8 million.

The schedule for transferring the orbiters may be six months earlier than originally anticipated. NASA also desires to make selections a year before receipt of the orbiters, so recipient organizations will have sufficient time to conduct any fundraising activities necessary to support preparation and ferry costs.

RFI responses are due to NASA by 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 19, 2010. Organizations that responded to the original RFI do not need to resubmit a full response, but should clarify their positions with respect to these changes.

NASA is planning to transfer space shuttle Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum. Shuttle orbiters Endeavour and Atlantis will be available for placement no earlier than July, 2011.

posted 01-27-2010 10:24 PM               

Officials at New Mexico space museums said two NASA space shuttle orbiters are too expensive for their facilities, despite a drop in price to $28.8 million.

Monte Marlin, spokeswoman for the White Sands Missile Range, said the facility would welcome space shuttle orbiters Endeavour and Atlantis, but the reduction in price from $42 million to $28.8 million isn't steep enough of a discount to make them affordable, the Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday.

...Mike Smith, registrar at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, said the price tag is also well out of his museum's range.

posted 01-28-2010 05:13 PM               

Three space shuttles will be used for educational purposes and Houston hopes to keep one here. Carl Willis reports.

posted 02-02-2010 11:27 AM               

If NASA eventually awards a space shuttle to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force for permanent display, there is still another issue to be decided: where the shuttle would be landed when it is flown to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

posted 02-16-2010 01:55 PM               

Next Monday, [the Tulsa Air and Space Museum will] boldly go to the strange world of politics.

"It's going to be a very political decision, so we are heading to Washington D.C. We're going to talk to a number of senators and representatives, not just from the state of Oklahoma, from the region and try to create a coalition of folks that would support us getting a space shuttle."

posted 03-05-2010 04:27 PM               

The Museum of Flight's board must decide within weeks whether to build a $12 million glass gallery to display one of three available space shuttles -- nine months before NASA will decide which museums will get one of the famous spacecraft.

The Seattle museum's board is wrestling with the gamble of building a home for a space shuttle that it may not get, said Bonnie Dunbar, museum president and CEO. Dunbar is a former astronaut who flew five shuttle missions.

But the museum has little choice. NASA won't consider donating a shuttle to a museum unless it has a display pavilion completed before the shuttle arrives...

posted 03-05-2010 08:51 PM               

I personally think Seattle should make a try for Enterprise since its history is linked with that of the Boeing 747 to become the world's largest air launched vehicle (since Buran's analog was jet powered, it wasn't air launched).

The USAF Museum in my opinion should get one as ironically enough they flew more Department of Defense (DoD) missions after Challenger then before (I believe they manifested six flights after 51L). Plus, it was DoD involvement and funding that dictated the shuttle's capabilities and thus its configuration (such as the high cross range capability). Plus, planned DoD use got the Soviets to build Buran to try and counter it and a lot of people consider Buran to be one of those projects that contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union since it was so expensive a project.

posted 03-15-2010 05:08 PM               

How to display a retired space shuttle

...some of the 20 organizations vying for an orbiter have released concepts for how they plan to exhibit a retired shuttle, should they receive one.

posted 03-17-2010 10:59 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Tykeanaut:
I wonder, does anyone think or know if a shuttle may go on tour after retirement? A visit to the UK would be very welcome!

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posted 03-17-2010 01:45 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
collectSPACE Photo Gallery: How to display a retired space shuttle

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Udvar-Hazy really did it right in my opinion. Enterprise is an overwhelming display. We were there on Saturday, and you always overhear people remark when they see it "Wow, I had no idea the shuttle was so big!?"

posted 03-17-2010 01:59 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by GoesTo11:
The thought did get me wondering, though... Has the SCA/orbiter ever appeared on non-US soil? If so, I can't recall it.

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posted 03-27-2010 06:55 AM               

• New York Daily News
  Former Intrepid pilot Sen. John McCain joins fight to bring NASA space shuttle to New York
  
• New York Daily News
  New York has the right stuff: Intrepid is the perfect showcase for space shuttle
  
• New York Daily News
  New Yorkers tell NASA to bring Discovery space shuttle to the Intrepid museum
  
• New York Daily News
  Sen. Chuck Schumer 'really excited' after chat with NASA about getting shuttle for Intrepid museum
  
• New York Post
  Right stuff for NYC: Help the Intrepid land a space shuttle
  
• New York Daily News
  Intrepid shuttle bid has wings: NASA

posted 03-29-2010 03:10 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by kr4mula:
Obviously I'm biased, but I can't see the utility in having all three orbiters on the East Coast: NYC, NASM, and KSC.

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posted 05-21-2010 01:38 PM               

• Chicago Tribune
  Space shuttle could land on Northerly Island

  If Paul Knappenberger's plans unfold as he envisions, the Adler Planetarium's parking lot will sprout a shiny glass building to house an out-of-this-world exhibit. In fact, the focus of that future exhibit might be orbiting Earth right now: the space shuttle Atlantis.

• Kettering-Oakwood Times
  Astronauts request shuttle be brought to Museum

  A group of 18 former astronauts asked NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr., to select the National Museum of the United States Air Force outside Dayton, Ohio, for a retired space shuttle when that program ends later this year....

  Among the astronauts was Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, U.S.A.F (Ret.), who flew two Gemini missions and commanded Apollo 10 in May 1969, which included the first flight of the lunar module to the moon.

  One of the signers, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, was the first American woman to walk in space. Another signer, Brig. Gen. Charles Moss Duke, Jr., U.S.A.F. (Ret.) walked on the moon as part of the Apollo 16 mission.

  Another Ohio astronaut, former Senator John Glenn, Jr., sent a separate letter to NASA supporting the shuttle coming to the Air Force museum.

• Arizona Daily Star
  Air museum scrubs bid to get shuttle for $28.8M

  The Pima Air and Space Museum survived the first two rounds of proposals to host one of the soon-to-be retired space shuttles, but withdrew after concluding the cost of acquiring one was too high.

posted 05-21-2010 05:06 PM               

Enterprise - US Space and Rocket Center (with a Saturn V)

Discovery - Steven F. Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum

Atlantis - Kennedy Space Center (with a Saturn V)

Endeavour - Johnson Space Center (with a Saturn V)

The Space Shuttles should stay with the buildings that served them the most, not far away from them. It would make more sense to have them close to the Saturn V's.

posted 05-24-2010 01:41 PM               

The last shuttle to land at Edwards, he will hold hostage and exchange it for the Enterprise to be displayed at the Flight Trest Museum (and AF Museum) at Edwards.

posted 06-06-2010 09:10 PM               

Space Center Houston targets acquisition of retired shuttle

Houston area business leaders and philanthropists aim to ensure that the NASA Johnson Space Center provides a permanent home for one of three retiring space shuttles at the city's premiere tourist destination, Space Center Houston.

The fate of one of space exploration's most heralded vehicles awaits the decision of NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr., expected early this summer. Approximately 20 venues across the nation are vying to be the final landing spot for a shuttle. Currently, Discovery is slated to reside with the National Air and Space Museum at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Still undecided are locations for Atlantis and Endeavour.

The logical choice

For area advocates, Houston is the logical location for a retired shuttle. The NASA Johnson Space Center is the home of Mission Control and the Astronaut Corps. Since the early 1970s, JSC designed, developed, managed and controlled the Space Shuttle Program. During that time, the program forged a multi-generation connection to the Houston area with more than 20,000 professionals currently employed in the local space industry.

If the Houston site is selected, the shuttle would reside at Space Center Houston. The official visitor center for JSC, Space Center Houston ranks as one of the state's top tourist attractions with more than 750,000 visitors each year. Operated by the Manned Space Flight Education Foundation, Inc., Space Center Houston is dedicated to telling the story of human space flight experiences - its history, present programs and missions, and the future - through interactive, educational experiences.

The 184,300 square-foot facility is home to numerous pieces of historic space hardware from flown Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules, the Skylab trainer, astronaut flight suits and much more.

A lasting impact

According to Robert F. Hodgin, University of Houston-Clear Lake associate professor of economics, this new attraction at Space Center Houston has the potential to produce an estimated $45 million in additional annual regional economic impact, generating another $29 million in business value and over 750 jobs in the area.

"Bringing a shuttle home to Houston is good for our regional economy, and it would allow us to enhance our mission of education and advocacy for the space program," said Richard Allen, president and chief executive officer of Space Center Houston. "We are uniquely qualified and ready to expand our visitor experience for the general public and through our educational programs with a new attraction focused solely on the space shuttle hardware and program history."

Working to make it happen

Space Center Houston officials are planning the first major expansion of the facility since its opening in 1992 to showcase the shuttle. The new 53,000 square-foot exhibit will be a highlight for encouraging student interest and commitment to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

"Space science is abstract and a challenge for many students to comprehend," Allen said. "The presence of a space shuttle would serve as the catalyst to promote understanding and inspiration."

As the nation's fourth-largest city, Houston provides convenient access to an array of potential visitors. Space Center Houston is working, along with the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and other partners across the state, to ensure Space Center Houston is a strong competitor for a space shuttle.

Allen said, "We submitted our official Request for Intent more than a year ago and have since conducted a capital campaign feasibility study and generated facility designs and programmatic concepts. We also established a formal subcommittee from our foundation Board to focus on more detailed relocation requirements, manage a capital campaign and oversee the effort should we be a selected site."

The subcommittee is chaired by Houston area commercial real estate executive Fred Griffin and includes regional business leaders George DeMontrond III, Frans Gillebaard, Ron Kapche and Jim Reinhartsen.

posted 06-06-2010 09:19 PM               

Just as you cannot climb into a Mercury, Gemini or Apollo spacecraft, or for that matter sit in the Enola Gay or climb aboard the Wright Flyer, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour are just as deserving of the protections afforded to our nation's most historic craft.