Shuttle Atlantis to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex!

[WDWisTheBest]

Just announced. Great for the Kennedy Visitor Complex.

Space shuttle Discovery, NASA's oldest remaining orbiter and the world's most flown spacecraft, will be displayed by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum at its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport.

At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Atlantis will be suspended such that it appears to be back in orbit around the Earth. As proposed, a multi-story digital projection of the home planet will rotate behind the orbiter in a new $100 million, 64,000 square-foot indoor facility.

Kennedy's display is designed to compliment its existing Shuttle Launch Experience, which opened in 2007 to give visitors the chance to feel what it was like to ride to space aboard one of the orbiters.

 

[akhenaten]

Nice... and the Intrepid Museum in NYC will get the Enterprise!!

 

[wvjules]

I want to know when Discovery is heading to DC. I want to be near the airport to watch that thing land.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I want to know when Discovery is heading to DC. I want to be near the airport to watch that thing land.

At present, NASA plans to have the shuttles ready to ship to their museums by early- to mid-next year.

For those going to sites outside of Florida, the orbiters will be attached to the back of NASA's modified Boeing 747 airliner and ferried to their new homes. Cranes will offload the shuttles from the carrier aircraft at the recipient cities' airports and then, depending on the location, the orbiters will be further moved to their display buildings

 

[momof1princess]

sad that the space and rocket center in huntsville, AL, didn't get one

 

[Dax]

What about Endevour?

 

[akhenaten]

At present, NASA plans to have the shuttles ready to ship to their museums by early- to mid-next year.

For those going to sites outside of Florida, the orbiters will be attached to the back of NASA's modified Boeing 747 airliner and ferried to their new homes. Cranes will offload the shuttles from the carrier aircraft at the recipient cities' airports and then, depending on the location, the orbiters will be further moved to their display buildings

Awesome... I hope they publicize when they will come in... that will be great to see!!

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Endeavour will be sent west, joining the space exhibits at the California Science Center, where Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft are already on display. Unlike the other museums selected, the science center did not pre-release its exhibit design concepts for the orbiter.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

did the space and rocket center in huntsville, AL, get one?

Unfortunately, no.

 

[moburg]

Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour should fly a little longer, until we have a replacement spacecraft. THEN, they can go to these museums. But, that won't happen. We'll just have to hitch a ride with the Russians.

 

[tmarquez]

Great news!

I couldn't imagine KSC not getting one...it'd just be wrong.

 

[Hoodie]

I want to know when Discovery is heading to DC. I want to be near the airport to watch that thing land.

I'll meet you there!

 

[Thumper_Man]

Great news!

I couldn't imagine KSC not getting one...it'd just be wrong.

ITA. We visited KSC last year and loved it. DW and I were hoping KSC would get one. We were hoping they would house it like they did the old Apollo rockets. Hopefully by the next time we get to go back, they will have it on display.

 

[EMom]

Okay, I'll say it. I am SICKENED and DISGUSTED that Johnson Space Center in Texas....Hello, Mission Control.....didn't get a shuttle. No two ways about it, it was political. It's a no brainer for the Smithsonian and Kennedy to get one, I'll grant you that. But the other OBVIOUS choice was Houston. Indeed, Houston, we have a problem. We just got shafted.

For crying out loud, the crew of one of the shuttles gave their lives in Texas. If any of the other candidates had been passed over, that would not have been an insult. To ignore Houston and JSC's decades long contribution to the space program, is an insult to every Texan. It was meant to be a slap in our face and we take it as such.

I would go on, but I don't want points. I'll just say that to pass over Houston was an unforgivable decision.

 

[cabanafrau]

My question is where is the funding for the new 64,000 square feet $100 million visitor center for displaying Atlantis at KSC coming from?

 

[dis-happy]

Okay, I'll say it. I am SICKENED and DISGUSTED that Johnson Space Center in Texas....Hello, Mission Control.....didn't get a shuttle. No two ways about it, it was political. It's a no brainer for the Smithsonian and Kennedy to get one, I'll grant you that. But the other OBVIOUS choice was Houston. Indeed, Houston, we have a problem. We just got shafted.

For crying out loud, the crew of one of the shuttles gave their lives in Texas. If any of the other candidates had been passed over, that would not have been an insult. To ignore Houston and JSC's decades long contribution to the space program, is an insult to every Texan. It was meant to be a slap in our face and we take it as such.

I would go on, but I don't want points. I'll just say that to pass over Houston was an unforgivable decision.

Sorry for TX but I'm glad that CA is getting one. The Jet Propulsion Labratory is a stone's throw away (the heart of our space program) and there are a lot more people located in CA and surrounding areas who will now get to see the shuttle.

 

[EMom]

Sorry for TX but I'm glad that CA is getting one. The Jet Propulsion Labratory is a stone's throw away (the heart of our space program) and there are a lot more people located in CA and surrounding areas who will now get to see the shuttle.

I realize I may seem to have a bias as a Texan, but from even an objective point of view, if you asked most Americans to name the top three spots for the space shuttles, I believe the majority of Americans would say (although not in any particular order) KSC, JSC and the Smithsonian. Those are the three choices that deserve a shuttle by an overwhelming margin.

I'm not saying the other cities weren't worthy candidates, etc. I'm just saying that to exclude either KSC or JSC is offensive, given their contribution to the space program. There is no way any other candidate (aside from the Smithsonian) should have ranked above KSC and JSC. I'd be equally as offended if JSC had gotten a shuttle and KSC hadn't. So if there are just a couple of shuttles to go around, excluding Houston was done for one reason only, and that reason is very petty. But what's new?

 

[Magix]

While I can understand why you feel there should be a shuttle in Texas, we in California also played a role in the space shuttle program, as a frequent landing base out at Edwards AFB, as well as a center of technology at JPL. So, it makes sense for us to have one, too. Unfortunately, there are only so many to go around. I'm sure the decision was a tough one and was based on a variety of factors, not just whatever political bias you seem to have in mind.

 

[dis-happy]

Just wish there were more shuttles to go around. In a way, Columbia will always be a part of TX; maybe there should be a memorial at JSC to the shuttle that "should" be displayed there. To me that would be even more moving and thought provoking, kind of like the Twin Towers.