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Shuttle News

Shuttle Replica Sails To Houston

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
June 1, 2012
Filed under ,

NASA Joins Community in Shuttlebration Weekend Celebration
“Houston has been with NASA’s Space Shuttle Program for 30 years and 135 missions, and this weekend, Houston and NASA will celebrate together as a souvenir of the program arrives in Clear Lake.”
Space Center Houston’s full-size Space Shuttle replica to arrive June 1 “Shuttlebration Weekend”
“On Sunday, June 3, the replica will make an estimated three-hour trek down NASA Parkway from the Hilton to its permanent home at Space Center Houston. Once on Space Center Houston property, the replica will be welcomed by JSC’s prototype planetary rovers for future solar system exploration, local scout troops and marching bands as it is rolled to its location.”
Keith’s note: Photo by Gwen Griffin, representing Griffin Communications and Space Center Houston, who is currently onboard the Kirby Corp’s barge along side. Larger photos

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

13 responses to “Shuttle Replica Sails To Houston”

  1. SkyKing_rocketmail says:
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    Almost looks like the real thing…almost. Its a decent consolation prize since Houston could likely not afford a new building to house a real one and this one can sit outside. I wonder if its good for flight speeds of 150 mph (hurricanes).

    • kcowing says:
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      Unlike the real orbiters this one allows people to get a better impression of its size and also how it is put together and what it is like to be on board.

      • Michael Spencer says:
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        Why is that? Seriously? How is the mock up different?
        Also, does anyone know what those squarish attachments are just between the crew area and the cargo bay?

        • Bill Roberts says:
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          The squarish attachments are part of the what allowed visitors to get a better impression of its size and also how it is put together and what it is like to be on board. You could walk into an area to view the cargo bay and crew compartments.  Try doing that with any of the other museum pieces.

        • Steve Pemberton says:
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          Without modifications, a real orbiter would have very limited accessibility. Visitors would have to enter through the hatch on the middeck or the airlock, and then they would have to climb a ladder to the flight deck. Not very practical for children, elderly, or disabled.  And only a few people could be inside at any one time, so there would only be the ability to process a few hundred visitors per day through it not the thousands who would want to see it.  And over time there would be unavoidable wear and tear.

          The Explorer mockup meanwhile is very accessible, with entrances on two levels (that’s what the square things are on the side).  The viewing area that visitors can walk into is basically the forward section of the cargo bay. The wall between the crew cabin and cargo bay has been replaced with plexiglas, so you get a good view into the flight deck and mid deck.  And you can look back into the cargo bay which makes quite an impression of how big it is.  

          At KSC they had a gantry next to Explorer with walkup ramps leading up to both levels, and also elevators.  Presumably at JSC they will have a similar setup, although I don’t know if they are going to transport the KSC gantry structure to JSC or if a new one will be built onsite.

          As displayed at KSC, the fidelity of the flight deck and mid deck was not very good.  However apparently at JSC the interior is going to be redone to make it more realistic.

  2. FishInFlorida says:
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    is this the model that folks could walk through at KSC some years ago?

    • Steve Pemberton says:
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      Yes it’s the same one.  It was on display at the KSC visitor center up until last December when it was moved to the turning basin where it sat until last month when it was loaded onto the barge.  While at the turning basin it was easily visible to the tour buses driving by, and because of how realistic it looks the tour bus drivers had to endlessly explain to people that it wasn’t a real Shuttle.

  3. FishInFlorida says:
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    is this the walk-through model that was at KSC?

  4. Antilope7724 says:
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    We have a Shuttle on a barge and a Dragon on a barge both headed to Texas. Who will win? 😉

  5. Ralphy999 says:
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    Watching the shuttle replica on TV being towed down the street. The darn thing is so wide they are having to bend trees back and everything. Crowds of people are coming to watch. Who woulda thunk it? 

  6. majormajor42 says:
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    Seems like part of what was lost during the “who gets what” debates from several motnhs ago were these other full size shuttle replicas/mock-ups/test articles like Explorer and Pathfinder (in AL). They are very nice. Was just looking at pictures of Pathfinder and how it is displayed outdoors on a full stack. And “Explorer” looks great too with its accesibility. I’m in NY and I can imagine a lot more people having fun inside and around Explorer on the Intrepid than the “hands-off” Enterprise.  Now I feel that the biggest looser is not Houston at all but Seattle with their purpose built building for one of these, real or not. Are they getting anything that truly measures up?