posted 05-08-2006 07:24 PM               

Assemblywoman calls for Atlantis to retire in Palmdale

Assemblywoman Sharon Runner (R-Lancaster) has introduced a Joint Resolution requesting Palmdale, California as the permanent home of the retired Orbiter Atlantis. If passed, the California Legislature would transmit an official request to the President and leaders of Congress, proposing Palmdale for the prestigious honor.

"It just makes sense for Atlantis to return home to Palmdale" said Runner. "This resolution is an important step in the process. It will demonstrate that California is united behind Palmdale as the proper location."

Space Shuttle Atlantis carried out 21 space flights, including the Galileo planetary explorer mission in 1989. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently announced its intentions to stand down or inactivate the Orbiter Atlantis following mission STS-126, which is presently scheduled for April 2008.

Palmdale is where every orbiter, Enterprise through Endeavour, was assembled and tested, including Atlantis; the facility continues to support the Space Shuttle Program with hardware fabrication and repair. Runner's Assembly Joint Resolution 52 calls for public display of Atlantis at a designated museum, which the Palmdale facility could easily assist with.

"Having been born and raised in the Antelope Valley, I have seen our Aerospace industry grow and flourish here over the years." said Runner. "While it was some time ago, I can remember when Palmdale first delivered Atlantis for service to NASA back in 1985."

Following introduction, AJR 52 now awaits referral to a policy committee. If approved in committee, the resolution will move on for consideration by the full Assembly.

posted 05-09-2006 01:44 AM               

BILL NUMBER: AJR 52

INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Sharon Runner

APRIL 26, 2006

Relative to the Orbiter Atlantis.

AJR52, as introduced, Sharon Runner.Orbiter Atlantis: retirement.

This measure would request the President and the Congress of the United States and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to retire the Orbiter Atlantis to Palmdale, California, its place of origin for eventual public display at a designated museum to inspire and educate people for years to come about the many achievements of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Atlantis, the fourth orbiter to become operational at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), was named after the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966. The two-masted, 460-ton ketch was the first United States vessel to be used for oceanographic research; and

WHEREAS, The Space Shuttle Atlantis has carried on the spirit of the sailing vessel with 21 space flights of its own, including the Galileo planetary explorer mission in 1989 and the deployment of the Arthur Holley Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in 1991. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced its intentions to stand down or inactivate the Orbiter Atlantis following mission STS−126, which is presently scheduled for April 2008; and

WHEREAS, Palmdale, California is where all the orbiters, Enterprise through Endeavour, were assembled and tested, including Atlantis, which was delivered for service to NASA in April 1985. The facility in Palmdale has performed the maintenance and modernization for all of the orbiters (Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP)) through 2001 when that effort was transitioned to KSC; and

WHEREAS, Atlantis benefitted from lessons learned in the construction and testing of Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger. At rollout, its weight was some 6,974 pounds less than Columbia. The experience gained during the Orbiter assembly process also enabled Atlantis to be completed with a 49.5 percent reduction in man hours (compared to Columbia). Much of this decrease can be attributed to the greater use of thermal protection blankets on the upper orbiter body instead of tiles; and

WHEREAS, Atlantis was shipped to Palmdale, California to undergo upgrades and modifications. These modifications included a drag chute, new plumbing lines that configured the orbiter for extended duration, more than 800 new heat protection tiles and blankets and new insulation for the main landing gear doors, and structural mods to the Atlantis airframe. Altogether, 165 modifications were made to Atlantis over the 20 months it spent in Palmdale, California; and

WHEREAS, The Palmdale facility continues to support the Space Shuttle Program with hardware fabrication and repair, although the workload has been diminishing each year. The people and facility there are certified for human-rated spaceflight hardware, tooling, and support equipment for both the Space Shuttle Program and the International Space Station; and

WHEREAS, Retiring Atlantis in Palmdale will support the facility's project "Vision for Space Exploration." It will free an OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility) for NASA's Exploration Mission Directorate, provide for a dedicated and focused workforce within ground operations at KSC to maintain and process Discovery and Endeavour to fly out the remainder of the Space Shuttle Program safely, and help to stabilize the small Space Shuttle workforce in Palmdale to be able to provide optimal preplanned as well as emergent support to the program through fly-out and termination; and

WHEREAS, The Palmdale facility and its workers could also help to preserve and prepare the Orbiter Atlantis for eventual transfer to its designated public display location once it is declared surplus and donated by NASA to a museum; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully requests the President and Congress of the United States and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to retire the Orbiter Atlantis to Palmdale, California, its place of origin for eventual public display at a designated museum to inspire and educate people for years to come about the many achievements of NASA's Space Shuttle Program; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.

posted 06-21-2006 09:39 PM               

State legislation aimed at returning the space shuttle Atlantis to its Palmdale birthplace after it retires passed an Assembly committee vote Tuesday and now heads to a floor vote.

Assembly Joint Resolution 52, authored by Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, asks the president, Congress and NASA to send Atlantis to Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale for display upon its planned retirement in 2008. The bill was approved on a unanimous vote by the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media Committee.

The bill now heads to a vote of the full Assembly, which will likely be held next week.

posted 08-15-2006 08:31 PM               

Today, Assemblywoman Sharon Runner's (R-Lancaster) joint resolution requesting Palmdale, California as the new home of the retired Orbiter Atlantis passed the Legislature. After passing its final stage on the Senate Floor unanimously, the resolution will now be transmitted as an official request to the President and leaders of Congress.

"This is exciting news," Runner said. "The overwhelming bi-partisan support for making Palmdale the final resting place for Atlantis is tremendous. It truly shows California's acknowledgement that the Antelope Valley plays a critical role in the aerospace industry."

Space Shuttle Atlantis carried out 21 space flights, including the Galileo planetary explorer mission in 1989. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently announced its intentions to stand down or inactivate the Orbiter Atlantis following mission STS-126, which is presently scheduled for April 2008.

Palmdale is where every orbiter, Enterprise through Endeavour, was assembled and tested, including Atlantis; the facility continues to support the Space Shuttle Program with hardware fabrication and repair. Runner's Assembly Joint Resolution 52 calls for public display of Atlantis at a designated museum, which the Palmdale facility could easily assist with.

"The men and women of Plant 42 have a long history of dedication to the Space Shuttle Program," said Runner. "Retiring the Atlantis in Palmdale will allow the hard working folks at Plant 42 to finish the great work they started when Atlantis was first assembled."

AJR 52 will now go to President Bush and Congress.

posted 04-20-2008 11:12 AM               

LA Daily News: Shuttle museum on track

To showcase the role of Palmdale and the Antelope Valley in America's manned space program, city officials want to establish a space shuttle museum.

The space shuttle fleet is slated to be retired in 2010, and the city wants to provide a home to one of the orbiters near Air Force Plant 42, where all six shuttles were built.

"We are working to bring one home to where they were built," Mayor Jim Ledford said. "There's only four of them. We would take any one."

As part of the effort, the City Council on Wednesday approved an application to acquire space shuttle artifacts warehoused at Plant 42. Items include shuttle insignia designs, flags flown in space signed by astronauts, and an escape module, Ledford said.

The city also has discussed its plans with officials at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, which displays Enterprise, the first shuttle built for testing purposes, at a museum center in suburban Virginia.

posted 07-30-2008 10:09 AM               

According to an article published this week on an internal Boeing Company website, the six-story maintenance stand once used to build and repair the orbiters at Palmdale, California, was demolished on July 14.

The article said that the stand was destroyed as efforts to dispose of surplus shuttle equipment and facilities around the country are stepped up.

Boeing photographs show heavy machinery turning the giant metal stand into a pile of metal scrap. It looks like the remnants of an old Erector set spilled onto the floor.

"The demolition of such a large, nearly iconic, piece of Orbiter build and modifications history sends the message that we are moving towards retiring the Space Shuttle and related facilities and equipment," Al Hoffman, Boeing director of proprietary operations for Palmdale/Edwards Air Force Base, said.

According to Boeing, about 1.4 million pounds of "original manufacturing and assembly tooling" equipment stored at Palmdale have been destroyed. A few pieces -- like the Shuttle Escape System Test Vehicle capsule, an early simulator for a cockpit ejection system -- were donated to Palmdale. Space Shuttle Columbia included this ejection system for the first few missions, but it was later removed.

The article said that the maintenance tower, called the Space Shuttle Orbiter Aft "513" work stand, was moved from the orbiter hangar in Building 150, where it was in storage, to an outside area for destruction.

"It's a bit sad to many of us here to see this work stand go to scrap, but everyone remains focused on flying our final mission safer than those preceding," Hoffman said.

Boeing spokesman Ed Memi, who authored of the story, said that Boeing had originally wanted to give the stand to the city of Palmdale, which is interested in building a museum to the space shuttles. But the stand was just too big, he said.