For Sale: Used Space Shuttle

reply to post by kinda kurious




Space exploration, to me, is the one thing that will firmly ensure our survival as a species. We WILL eventually have to get off this rock. Be it sooner or later. The fact that we pay so little attention to the space program is saddening to me.

On the note of the elitist thing, eventually more and more people will be priced into it. Concorde failed because they could not bring costs of running a supersonic jet back and forth from EU to US down regardless of how often they traveled or how much they charged for the service. If enough interest is taken by the public there will be those out there who seek to commercialize space for a reasonable price.

The car was hugely expensive, now even people on the lower end of the economic spectrum can afford them. Of course space travel isn't the same thing, but I believe a new era of space exploration is just around the corner.

reply to post by kinda kurious


Interesting, I Really am surprised that they are only $30 Million each. In Terms of how expensive and historic the equipment and shuttles are, i would have thought they would have gone for a hell of a lot more.

I Thought NASA would just keep them in storage and eventualy put them in the museum, not all though of course.
Or they could recycle if thats possible, or is that a dumb ass idea?
Who's gonna buy one anyway. I guess if i was a Gazillionaire, i would shove it in my huge mansion backyard. and install a computer sim in it, that would kick ass. Invite people over to sit in it. Although you would need a hell of a big backyard.

++++++++++++++++++++ UPDATE ++++++++++++++++++++++

And the winners are................

NASA says Florida, New York, California and the District of Columbia are its choices for the final homes for its retired space shuttles.

Read more: www.upi.com...

mblah.......I pulled a few strings for ya.........

The Atlantis, scheduled for its last launch in June, will go to the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex.

Yay, I'm in Florida too.

Plenty of disappointed people in Houston. I can certainly understand why!

Houston, we have a problem....

How LA won over flippin Mission Control is beyond me. Hell, they will just throw it onto a barge and park it next to the Queen Mary. New York?? Not even a remote connection to the space shuttle.

As an Ohioan, I am disappointed that one of the Shuttles did end up in Dayton. Home of the National Museum of the USAF.

The battle is not over...The one issue I will stand beside Sherrod Brown on...

Texans couldn't understand how their state, home to NASA's Mission Control, could be passed over for a space shuttle. Nor could people in Ohio, site of the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

They called for a congressional investigation and charged that politics played a role in NASA's decision to send Endeavour to Los Angeles, Atlantis to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Discovery to the Smithsonian in northern Virginia. The shuttle prototype Enterprise will head to New York.

"It is unthinkable that the home of human space flight would not represent the ideal home for a retired orbiter," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas). Houston Mayor Annise Parker said in a statement, "There was no other city with our history of human space flight or more deserving of a retiring orbiter. It is unfortunate that political calculations have prevailed in the final decision."

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) branded the decision "tawdry politics."

And Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), vowed, "The fight is not over.'' Brown, who sought to bring a shuttle to the National Air Force Museum at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, joined other members of Ohio's congressional delegation in calling for an investigation into the selection process.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden could face a tough time when he next appears before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.

One of its members, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) called the decision "shameful."

"Houston is home to a generation of astronauts, scientists and engineers at the Johnson Space Center who have guided every shuttle mission and who have personally grieved the loss of friends and family who gave their lives in the name of space exploration," he said. "On this historic day their unmatched contributions are ignored in favor of two states, New York and California, whose investment in America's space program pales in comparison."

latimesblogs.latimes.com...

reply to post by jibeho


Well at the risk of contributing to the hijacking of my own thread, I feel it is incumbent on me to reply in kind Jibe.

Perhaps if the State of Texas was not so vocal on their hellbent cockamamie idea to secede from the US, with their collective "We hate America" stance they might have been viewed as a more viable option. Their unwelcoming attitude seems to resent all things American and it would serve to deprive the balance of the patriotic US citizenry of enjoying the pleasure of touring the shuttle.

As I said in this post in
this thread: Bill on Texas Secession presented to Texas Legislature:

Originally posted by kinda kurious
Oh and I'm sure you won't miss having a huge NASA presence in your state. Aerospace isn't a big industry in Texas is it?

People really should take me more seriously. ( just ask mblah ) Lurking under this faux Village Idiot veneer I actually do carry quite a bit of sway. Sorry about the Ohio thang but I won't get misty over Texas missing out. :shk:

As we now know, Texas is disputing their exclusion by NASA as a final site.

I thought it might be fun to speculate on how the others plan to get that big honking shuttle to each respective site. Naturally NASA's modified 747 would play a vital part in getting Shuttles to closet airport:

media.nowpublic.net...

Here's how the Russians accomplished relocating theirs. (Buran)

img382.imageshack.us...=1

img382.imageshack.us...

I suspect without major dismantling traversing over normal roadways would be major obstacle. I wonder if proximity to runway or waterway played any factor. Thoughts?

The NASA shuttles mentioned in this message thread can be sent to the scrap yards (even when they were new), IMO. But let me know when one of these shuttles is available for bids:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/3345a92f727b.jpg[/atsimg]

Originally posted by Larryman
The NASA shuttles mentioned in this message thread can be sent to the scrap yards (even when they were new), I

I respectfully and emphatically disagree. The Shuttles far exceeded their expected lifespan and were pioneering on so many levels. The idea of a reusable space craft is, to this day, nothing short of astonishing, IMO. Their ability to launch and retrieve satellites, conduct experiments and act as service vehicle to ISS as a multi-purpose vehicle is revolutionary. Not to mention their stellar performance over 133 missions to date despite 2 catastrophic failures. As I posted before, the stats are impressive:

The shuttle Discovery made a graceful landing at Kennedy Space Center today, returning from her final voyage after a remarkable three-decade life of service spanning 39 flights, 5,830 orbits of the planet, 365 days spent aloft and 148 million miles traveled.

www.astronomynow.com...

They should be proudly displayed for their unparalleled achievements in space exploration. But nice cartoon. Sorry admittedly I'm a huge Shuttle groupie.