Discovery heading to Smithsonian
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/space-shuttle-discovery-ready-voyage-museum-16147979
Space shuttle Discovery has one last mission to complete.
At daybreak Tuesday, the oldest of NASA's retired shuttle fleet will leave its home at Kennedy Space Center for the final time, riding on top a modified jumbo jet.
Its destination: the Smithsonian Institution's hangar outside Washington, D.C.
The plane and jet will make a farewell flight over Cape Canaveral before heading north. The pair also will swoop over the nation's capital, including the National Mall, before landing in Virginia.
Discovery first launched in 1984 and flew 39 times in space, more than any other shuttle. It is the oldest of NASA's three surviving space shuttles and the first to head to a museum.
Discovery's list of achievements include delivering the Hubble Space Telescope to orbit, carrying the first Russian cosmonaut to launch on a U.S. spaceship, performing the first rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir with the first female shuttle pilot in the cockpit, returning Mercury astronaut John Glenn to orbit, and bringing shuttle flights back to life after the Challenger and Columbia accidents.
Astronaut Nicole Stott had "mixed feelings" as she gazed up at Discovery. "There's no denying the sadness associated with it," said Stott, who was on Discovery's last crew.
It is not sad that The Shuttle Program is over. It is sad that NASA has no plan going forward.
3 Trillion Dollar Federal budget and they can’t find 18 billion for NASA. 700 Billion to bail out the Wall Street banks. You bet there is. 800 Billion in stimulus for paving roads that don’t need to be paved. Absolutely! 185 Billion to bail out AIG. No doubt about it. 1 Trillion dollars to cover tax breaks for the top 1% well that is a national priority. But NASA will have to go sweep out the hangers one more time because there is no money for anything else. Obama will spend money to create jobs. Just not on engineers, and rocket scientists. Road pavers are more important.
Space shuttle Discovery has one last mission to complete.
At daybreak Tuesday, the oldest of NASA's retired shuttle fleet will leave its home at Kennedy Space Center for the final time, riding on top a modified jumbo jet.
Its destination: the Smithsonian Institution's hangar outside Washington, D.C.
The plane and jet will make a farewell flight over Cape Canaveral before heading north. The pair also will swoop over the nation's capital, including the National Mall, before landing in Virginia.
Discovery first launched in 1984 and flew 39 times in space, more than any other shuttle. It is the oldest of NASA's three surviving space shuttles and the first to head to a museum.
Discovery's list of achievements include delivering the Hubble Space Telescope to orbit, carrying the first Russian cosmonaut to launch on a U.S. spaceship, performing the first rendezvous with the Russian space station Mir with the first female shuttle pilot in the cockpit, returning Mercury astronaut John Glenn to orbit, and bringing shuttle flights back to life after the Challenger and Columbia accidents.
Astronaut Nicole Stott had "mixed feelings" as she gazed up at Discovery. "There's no denying the sadness associated with it," said Stott, who was on Discovery's last crew.
It is not sad that The Shuttle Program is over. It is sad that NASA has no plan going forward.
3 Trillion Dollar Federal budget and they can’t find 18 billion for NASA. 700 Billion to bail out the Wall Street banks. You bet there is. 800 Billion in stimulus for paving roads that don’t need to be paved. Absolutely! 185 Billion to bail out AIG. No doubt about it. 1 Trillion dollars to cover tax breaks for the top 1% well that is a national priority. But NASA will have to go sweep out the hangers one more time because there is no money for anything else. Obama will spend money to create jobs. Just not on engineers, and rocket scientists. Road pavers are more important.
posted by res17 at
April 17, 2012
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