This could be interesting!
The Space Shuttle is going to look launch ready once again, although this time the retired spacecraft won’t be firing its engines.
The California Science Center is ready to kick off a six-month-long process to stack the components of the Space Shuttle into a vertical launchpad position such that it can go on display at the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is currently under construction, the science center announced on Thursday. The museum’s Go for Stack process is set to begin on July 20, which marks Space Exploration Day.
Full article, HERE from Gizmodo.
I will be curious as to how they accomplish this, since this was normally done in the VAB with all the attendant pieces, parts, and expertise right there.
AND they weren’t worried about earthquakes, which are definitely an issue in SoCal.
If they can pull it off, it will definitely be an impressive feat, and people will be able to see the full stack up close! Of course, my second question is, who’s going to be ‘cleaning’ that monstrosity once they get it put together?
That’s always the sad part of any outdoor displays, and that is the bird crap, sun fading, and graffiti that ends up getting on them.
The shuttles were stored vertically in a hanger at the Cape. I had the opportunity to see all 4 hanging in there once. It is an off sight to see them hanging like clothes in a closet. Without a gantry, I don’t see how they’ll keep the stack stable once assembled. Ordinarily, there are clamps/braces holding the bottoms of the wings. Those and the SRBs support the weight. I just can’t picture it.
Put a massive amount of alcohol at the destination. Clue in the Seabees that the Shuttle + Boosters need to be moved and stacked at the destination as a cover operation for them to Strategically Transfer Ethanol to an Alternate Location.
It’ll be done by lunch. Don’t ask where the alcohol went.
(I may have been watching too many “Fat Electrician” videos in the past 24 hours…)
I’m still annoyed that Obama made a point of sending the shuttles to places that didn’t support them and for the most part hated them. The towns and cities that supported the program? They didn’t get squat.
It was a huge slap in the face.
and yes, putting it outside means that in twenty years they’ll be hauling it off to the scrap yard. It also shows that they REALLY don’t want it – so they’re sticking it outside where it will be out of the way.
John, a lot of the Shuttle was built in the LA basin, Rockwell International had a huge presence in SoCal. SSMEs were build in Chatsworth, the shuttles were integrated and maintained in Palmdale, etc. Having one stacked near the people who built it makes good sense to me.
Go back and read the coverage when they trucked the Shuttle from LAX to the museum complex. Very positive.
The only location I find questionable is Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in NYC. It is a nice museum, but the area had little to with the shuttle program. LA area built the orbiter, Huntsville was integral and got an engineering test article, Florida launched them and got an orbiter, and the Smithsonian makes total sense. Houston got to keep the orbiter avionics mockup (SAIL), and USAF museum got one of the training mockups.
Mike- Good point, I’d forgotten that!
Ag- LOL, true…
John/Rick- It’s always the perspectives of the people… Some loved it, some hated it.