NASA Announces New Homes For Shuttle Orbiters After Retirement
WASHINGTON -- After 30 years of spaceflight, more than 130 missions,and numerous science and technology firsts, NASA's space shuttle
fleet will retire and be on display at institutions across the
country to inspire the next generation of explorers and engineers.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Tuesday announced the facilities
where four shuttle orbiters will be displayed permanently at the
conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program. Shuttle Enterprise, the
first orbiter built, will move from the Smithsonian's National Air
and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to the
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. The Udvar-Hazy Center
will become the new home for shuttle Discovery, which retired after
completing its 39th mission in March. Shuttle Endeavour, which is
preparing for its final flight at the end of the month, will go to
the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Atlantis, which will
fly the last planned shuttle mission in June, will be displayed at
the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex in Florida.
"We want to thank all of the locations that expressed an interest in
one of these national treasures," Bolden said. "This was a very
difficult decision, but one that was made with the American public in
mind. In the end, these choices provide the greatest number of people
with the best opportunity to share in the history and accomplishments
of NASA's remarkable Space Shuttle Program. These facilities we've
chosen have a noteworthy legacy of preserving space artifacts and
providing outstanding access to U.S. and international visitors."
NASA also announced that hundreds of shuttle artifacts have been
allocated to museums and education institutions.
- Various shuttle simulators for the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, the
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum of McMinnville, Ore., and Texas
A&M's Aerospace Engineering Department
- Full fuselage trainer for the Museum of Flight in Seattle
- Nose cap assembly and crew compartment trainer for the National
Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in
Ohio
- Flight deck pilot and commander seats for NASA's Johnson Space
Center in Houston
- Orbital maneuvering system engines for the U.S. Space and Rocket
Center of Huntsville, Ala., National Air and Space Museum in
Washington, and Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
For more information about other shuttle program artifacts that are
available to museums and libraries, visit:
http://gsaxcess.gov/htm/nasa/
NASA also is offering shuttle heat shield tiles to schools and
universities that want to share technology and a piece of space
history with their students. Schools can request a tile at:
http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.
For a map of the future locations for the orbiters and shuttle
artifacts and for more information on visiting the facilities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/
For more information about NASA's placement of the space shuttle orbiters, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/transition
For information about the Space Shuttle Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
Source: NASA
