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Thread: Latest on the Shuttle at Intrepid

  1. #16
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    I saw Enterprise today at the Udvar-Hazy museum at Dulles. The guide said it was going to NY in April but that it will be replaced in the museum by Discovery.
    It's the fares, stupid

  2. #17
    Senior Member Speedbagel_001's Avatar
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    What would really be cool is if on approach to JFK, they allowed the Enterprise to be disconnected from the 747 and glide home to a landing, like it did back in the old days. But I'm guessing it is far from "glide-worthy", and certainly nobody is going to pay to make it so for a publicity stunt like that. Still, one can dream...

  3. #18
    Senior Member gonzalu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil D. View Post
    I hope they do some flyby's around the city again before landing.
    God forbid Phil, lest people think it is another terrorist attack... or worse, a stupid stunt by The PResident to get some snaps!!! Oh the madness of it!
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  4. #19
    Senior Member Gerard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gonzalu View Post
    God forbid Phil, lest people think it is another terrorist attack... or worse, a stupid stunt by The PResident to get some snaps!!! Oh the madness of it!
    I totally agree with Phil. It would be so great to see it flying around Manhattan. And as long as they make multiple media alerts I would see no problem with people feaking out. In fact I'll bet you non-spotting people would be out in droves to see something like that. Remember the AF1 debacle was because NO ONE alerted the media/public!!

  5. #20
    Senior Member darlyn's Avatar
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    Personally I'd like to have a real shuttle in NYC instead of that Enterprise glider but it's better than nothing, I guess.

  6. #21
    Administrator PhilDernerJr's Avatar
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    People who say that simply do not know the history of Enterprise. Not to mention that NYC doesn't really DESERVE a shuttle compared to the contributions other places have made in space travel. We are VERY lucky we got anything, and the only reason we did is because of tourist traffic.
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  7. #22
    Senior Member darlyn's Avatar
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    I will admit that it was the shuttle test bed for the landing part but I'm still a bit disappointed that we won't get to see something with actual heat tiles and has actually been in orbit. There's a neat video of a less-than-ideal landing.

  8. #23
    Administrator PhilDernerJr's Avatar
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    That video alone shows one of the values of Enterprise...it's role in addressing the increased risk of pilot-induced oscillation in the shuttle.

    I also think that Enterprise DOES have a set of heat tiles on it, no? I know that after the Columbia accident, they used Enterprise for testing to ensure that the rest of the shuttles and the entire program could operate safely for years to come.
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  9. #24
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    Enterprise does have the RCC leading edge panels, and they were donated to NASA to confirm the theory behind the loss of Columbia. However, the tiles are not the genuine silica heat resistant ones but foam replicas. So effectively no...it does not have a heat shield.

    Remember the original plan was to convert her to spaceworthyness. The issue was that NASA learned a lot in the construction of Columbia, and how to do things more effeciently. Namely how to save weight which resulted in increased payload. They realized that the amount of work needed to "undo" or backdate Enterprise was not worth the expense. They decided instead to take "STA-99" which was a ground stress test airframe, and build that into the next orbiter "Challenger".

    Ironically it was STA-99 that demonstrated to NASA via stress testing just how much overbuild Columbia was in the first place. After Challenger was lost and a replacement shuttle was approved, the thought turned back to Enterprise for a refit. Again it was deemed to expensive. There were enough spare parts ordered for the fleet that it was more cost effective just to use them to build a new shuttle "Endeavor".

  10. #25
    Senior Member darlyn's Avatar
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    It did not have heat tiles and was never space-worthy. I don't really care how much of a contributor to the program it was, I want to get up close to that space-weathered heat shield and thermal blacket, charred ruggedness the real shuttles have. That plastic look it has is downright disappointing. Luckily Discovery will only be a few hours' drive away in VA. NYC should have gotten it given that it has JFK as one of the mission-abort locations and lacks a good space museum.

  11. #26
    Administrator PhilDernerJr's Avatar
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    There are dozens of abort locations for the shuttle....what would make JFK so worthy on top of that? I can name other places, such as Houston, that are much for deserving of an actual shuttle. NYC is lucky we got anything. I mean no offense, darlyn, but it seems that so many New Yorkers have this sense of entitlement when it comes to the shuttle that I just don't understand.
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  12. #27
    Senior Member Tom_Turner's Avatar
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    It's gonna be great to have Enterprise here in NYC. It's plenty important in its own right.
    "Keep 'em Flying"

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by darlyn View Post
    It did not have heat tiles and was never space-worthy. I don't really care how much of a contributor to the program it was, I want to get up close to that space-weathered heat shield and thermal blacket, charred ruggedness the real shuttles have. That plastic look it has is downright disappointing. Luckily Discovery will only be a few hours' drive away in VA. NYC should have gotten it given that it has JFK as one of the mission-abort locations and lacks a good space museum.
    I've NEVER heard of JFK as an abort location.

    However, it's documented that FOK was one! Also the 106th out there was tasked with the role of search and rescue of the astronaut crews, should they have had to bail.

  14. #29
    Senior Member darlyn's Avatar
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    Well, I guess I just made that up, then. Oh wait:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_S...#United_States

  15. #30
    Senior Member Derf's Avatar
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    nobody accused you of making it up, I know about FOK and had never knew that JFK was one as well. Sorry but I do not know everything like most on this site.
    The three most common expressions in aviation are, "Why is it doing that?", "Where are we?" and "Oh Crap".

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