Saw the Shuttle today- Well Kind of.....

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Tex_Mike

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Tex_MIKE
Today I saw a full size mock up of the space shuttle being barged to Houston's Johnson Space Center. It looks like the real deal but it is only made of plywood and isn't exactly airworthy.

NASA is barging in into Clearlake where it will be docked at a NASA dock that hasn't been used since bringing in the Saturn rocket that is on display. I guess that was in the 1970's but not really sure.

It still kills me that Houston doesn't get one of the "real" Space Shuttles. I guess the City just wasn't as big a part of the Shuttle program as NYC. Oh wait.............

Sorry for the bad pic- I had to use digital zoom.
 

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NASA only got to keep one, and Kennedy had a way cooler plan for it than JSC.

Of course, it's still possible that the California Science Center or even the Intrepid is going to fail to get theirs on display. The stranger items was that some of the bigger museums like Wright-Pat and Seattle were passed over. I guess they wanted them in larger metro areas.
 
Moving Enterprise today! To the barge for her trip up the Hudson, to the Intrepid:)
 

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What spacecraft are we using now?

Estes rockets? :(
 
Private enterprise SpaceX just went to the shuttle. There's also European and Japanese shuttle servicing rockets. Expect the Chineese to take over from us.
 
redtail said:
Moving Enterprise today! To the barge for her trip up the Hudson, to the Intrepid:)
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Redtail- Your just rubbing it in man. The hurt from not getting a shuttle in Houston is just to painful. You are seeing the real thing and I am seeing one made from plywood. I know I started the thread but now I have to leave and not return (but if you post more pics I will be forced to look at them!). :rolleyes2:

I sure hope you guys enjoy the Enterprise. One of these days I am going to make a visit to the Intrepid. Looks like a really cool museum.
 
flyingron said:
Private enterprise SpaceX just went to the International Space Station. There's also European and Japanese International Space Station servicing rockets. Expect the Chinese to take over from us.
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FTFY.
 
Tex_Mike said:
Redtail- Your just rubbing it in man. The hurt from not getting a shuttle in Houston is just to painful. You are seeing the real thing and I am seeing one made from plywood. I know I started the thread but now I have to leave and not return (but if you post more pics I will be forced to look at them!). :rolleyes2:

I sure hope you guys enjoy the Enterprise. One of these days I am going to make a visit to the Intrepid. Looks like a really cool museum.
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Sorry man:D

Yes, I'm loving it! It was quiet a treat to be that close to it. I took some amazing pics of her and the SCA (747) also!

My wife and I visited the Intrepid once before the rehab. It was truly a blast! I used to get an employee discount but not anymore:rolleyes2:

So my next visit is at full price $24
 
Awesome!
I felt like an ant next to such beast!!!

Live long and prosper
enjoy:)
 

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Very Cool- I take it you had some sort of special access to the hanger? I liked the mission paint on the side of the 747. I had never heard of the Phantom Ray. It looks small. I wonder why it needed a piggy back ride. Perhaps they were testing the aerodynamics.
 
flyingron said:
I guess they wanted them in larger metro areas.
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Yup, follow the money.

When the time comes for funding the next effort in space, you need the support of a lot of voters... I do feel sorry for the folks in Houston in this instance, but this is not just a display for posterity, it is also an advertisement for the future needs of NASA. Politics.... bah! In any case I can't wait to go to the Intrepid Museum again to see the prototype.

-Skip
 
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Tex_Mike said:
Very Cool- I take it you had some sort of special access to the hanger? I liked the mission paint on the side of the 747. I had never heard of the Phantom Ray. It looks small. I wonder why it needed a piggy back ride. Perhaps they were testing the aerodynamics.
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Special access:yesnod:
Well I'm a 26 year employee of the PANYNJ. I used to install and maintain the runway/taxiway and tower lighting at KEWR & KLGA.

Yes the paint scheme is pretty cool! I'd never heard of Phantom Ray either. Googled it, a really interesting UAV
 
denverpilot said:
Union longshoremen? Unlikely.
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I dunno man, it's not like you can just call up the local mechanic and have them fix the wing tips of the Space Shuttle, the company is going to lose some money on that mistake, union or not someone is going to lose their job if they're not severely reprimanded.
 
I doubt they will rebuild the wing to a space worthy status but if they did what do you think that would cost. A few AMU to be sure!
It looks like a low tide caught them off guard.

Just another reason it should have come to Texas.
Just sayin.
 
They'll slap something over the end that looks right with plywood underneath, and the lawyers will argue about how much money they and the museum get for damages to a "priceless treasure" from Lloyd's of London.
 
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