TWSB: “Space Debris”


Today NASA is celebrating 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch. How? By announcing the final resting places of four retired spacecrafts: Enterprise, Discovery, Endeavor, and Atlantis.

Apparently there’s been quite a lot of vying over who gets the retired shuttles—21 official proposals were submitted to NASA, some with petitions 150,000 signatures strong behind them, others with plans to construct dedicated buildings to house the shuttles.
In the end, though, NASA administrator Charles Bolden announced that the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, a wing of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum,  the California Science Center, and the Kennedy Space Center won out for the Enterprise, Discovery, Endeavor, and Atlantis, respectively.

Smaller shuttle artifacts, like fuselage trainers and commander seats, are being offered to various other museums, according to NASA. And those museums may be better off financially when it all comes down to it—the four winning spaces will have to find room and money to house these 170,000 pound, 122 feet long giants.

 

Totally worth it though, right? I’d definitely hang with a shuttle if I got the chance.

One response

  1. Matt Farnsworth's avatar
    Matt Farnsworth | Reply

    I remember the Boeing museums in Seattle really wanted a shuttle, but ended up with a fuselage trainer instead. Still pretty cool though, and I’m glad that a location out west got a full shuttle, makes it eraser to go see one.

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