^
I didn't say NYC shouldn't have gotten consideration, but ONE of the criteria was a connection to the program.
You said, "Nobody goes to Dayton," so why don't you just run with that.
Well, if you compare 1.3 million with 48 million, then it might as well be nobody.
Also, it would not surprise me that a large part of that 1.3 is more from the local area than elsewhere say Seattle or Germany.
It gets back to the exposure thing again. NY offers it a world stage, Dayton not so much.
Whatever you say, nobody goes to the museum in Dayton.
You might want to go back and review the competition selection criteria before you say anything more. There were protests when NY was chosen, and I think we were lucky to get one. Maybe that's why we got the one that didn't go into space. If we get bogged down in getting a place ready for the shuttle, some people may want to revisit the selection. Bring up other things like three will be on the east coast, one on the west coast, and none in between. I wouldn't be too confident if that happened.
Or we could tell them that nobody goes to Dayton.
Luck had nothing to do with it.
They clearly wanted to have a space shuttle here.
The same people that were protesting, would still have protested if any of the shuttles went to Dayton.
^
Speculation.
There were many alternatives to choose from. What I've been saying is that if this change in plans by the Intrepid Museum Foundation, which is more complicated and costly than the original proposal, hits a snag, the shuttle can go to other viable places, including Dayton.
It's not like NASA is locked in to New York.
It appears that what the Intrepid crew stated in their presentation as to when the Shuttle would be viewable by the public has likely changed. Not sure what the legal agreement states, but no one should be surprised that there are time lines set down and if the Intrepid can't meet the dates then they would run the risk of losing this opportunity.
No one should expect the Intrepid to be able to take possession of the Shuttle and then stick it in some hangar somewhere, away from the site and generally out of public view, while they try to raise the money and then build the exhibition space.
They'd be wise to show very soon that they have the money and the plans to move forward across the hiway.
Ohio is getting in the fight to wrestle Enterprise away from NYC:
The tussle on Capitol Hill over the space shuttle Enterprise continued on Tuesday with a senator from Ohio demanding that NASA rescind its award to New York City.Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, sent a letter to Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden Jr., administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, asking him to reconsider his decision to give Enterprise to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan.http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/20...trepid-museum/“If the Intrepid museum’s plan was to build a new facility in an area of New York that it does not currently have permission to build on, that should have been made clear to NASA from the start,” Mr. Brown said. “This report makes it evident that New York City was, and still is, woefully unprepared to house the Enterprise space shuttle. This also raises further questions about the thoroughness of NASA’s selection process — and I urge NASA to revisit its decision to send the Enterprise to New York.”
Just build it on the pier.
I hope New York can come up with an inovative way of displaying Enterprise, as they will have competition.
Kennedy space Center has announced that they will display the orbiter Atlantis with its Payload bay doors open and hanging mid air as mentioned before:
The California Science Center has announced that it Will display the Shuttle Endeavour in the vertical position, attached to a shuttle External tank and Solid rocket boosters:
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-101411a.htmlAs currently planned, four years after arriving at the CSC, Endeavour will move again. But rather than moving over land, it will instead be going up.
"You know they're going to display this in the vertical with solid rocket boosters and an external tank. It is going to be an incredible exhibit if that all comes to fruition," said STS-134 commander Mark Kelly.
Though the details are still to be worked out, such as if real or replica booster and tank components will be used, the CSC plans Endeavour's permanent exhibition to show the vehicle as it appeared on the launch pad.
So New York, Brainstorm! Perhaps displaying Enterprise on the SCA?
I LOVE the Intrepid, and the military aircraft (of various eras) on its desk, but I never thought the Concorde belonged there, and that goes doubly for the Shuttle. We don't need the Shuttle, particularly a fake Shuttle, here in NYC. Especially if we have to waste a valuable plot of land on it (as opposed to just sticking it on a pier). There's more than enough to see and do in NY without it. I think Houston should have gotten one. It is associated with the Space Program, and there is absolutely nothing else to do there. (Unfortunately, I speak from experience.) I went to the Dayton museum as a kid, and enjoyed it, but I don't really associate it with the Space Program either.
The only reason it would go do Dayton is because the Air Force ended up dictating much of the final shuttle design.
But yeah, it's kind of a kick in the groin for Houston. Not my favorite city, either, but at least they have a real connection with the space program.
And looking at the dimensions of the lot, would not matter as a stock 747 would not fit in the foot print anyhow. Still, I hope NY comes up with a great way to show off the old girl, believe me she is a grand lady once you get to know her.Originally Posted by USSManhattan
Agree that this should've gone to Houston (or for that matter even Seattle or Dayton, if Houston didn't have a viable plan for showcasing the shuttle ... which it seemed to do). Any one of those cities attracts a decent number of tourists -- even Dayton, which is quite close to Ohio's other major cities, Indianapolis, and Louisville/Lexington. More importantly, though, they all have a connection to the space program. While I love being able to see the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum, if Lord Elgin were about to take them from Greece today, I'd rather he leave them at the Acropolis. Similarly, I'd rather see this shuttle in a place that has some connection to the space program (be it Mission Control in Houston, via the USAF in Dayton, or Boeing in Seattle). Those cities certainly can benefit more from this sort of tourist draw than New York, where it really does seem like overkill and a sort of misplaced, near-kitsch thing to have.
I'm guessing politics played a large role in this (with the likes of Schumer having more weight among the Dems than, say, Sherrod Brown of Ohio), and that the Intrepid Museum's "plans" and perceived ability to showcase the shuttle were a consideration. Unfortunately, it looks like the Intrepid Museum overplayed its hand a bit ... I'd be happy if it focused on the Intrepid, the sub, and the planes on the Intrepid's flightdeck rather than collecting any and every tsotchke and historic object that has ever flown or floated.
To be quite frank, the planes on the flightdeck really need a sprucing up. And a rearrangement. It's one of the messiest displays of aircraft I've ever seen and I'm a huge aviation buff.
Actually I think the shuttle has more to do with the Intrepid than the aircraft showcased on it's deck- Almost none of which belong on that type of carrier.
And if I'm not mistaken those aircraft are on long term loan and don't belong to the museum.
The Intrepid went on to serve as one of the primary recovery vessels for NASA, responsible for the recovery of Mercury and Gemini space missions. It also has a replica Gemini (i believe) Capsule hanging from it's side...
I don't see what's the big deal adding another replica like space artifact to it's facility. The Plan they submitted and won the shuttle with could still be carried out, but the new one (if possible) would be even better.
Gemini capsule being brought aboard the Intrepid
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks