Rocket, the pride of the American space program, definitely go down in history. The new balance of power and division of the pie buđeda planned U.S. aircraft from the Constellation program will not ever stop to rocket ramps. Billions of dollars are spent to the outskirts of the direction the team realized that NASA would not be until 2030. arrived (again) to the moon.
Comparison of U.S. and Russian shuttle
The fleet of five shuttle in the last thirty years has been reduced to three copies, Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour. Columbia and Challenger were lost along with 14 astronauts in the space era, the greatest tragedy of mankind.
The remaining trio will be divided almost free museum or other educational institutions in the U.S. for a price of only $ 28 billion per copy. It sounds almost incredible that the billions of dollars worth of aircraft on the outskirts will be sold for next to nothing. NASA has not clarified what exactly means the charge of the future owners shuttle, but it is probably a modification, removal of toxic elements and transportation costs to the ultimate destination of these beauties.
Apollo program ended in ruins as iron in the open
Since NASA has sent a public invitation to interested parties who are fit to provide an adequate home "under roof" of the spacecraft occurred 21 institutions. All of them explained their request argument "how and why" the pride of the local svemriskog Give them just at the end of this year will bring the final decision of who will win this auction neuobičajnoj. Learning from previous experience when the rockets and spacecraft of the Apollo program literally trunule open spaces are now looking for guarantees that the new owners of the space shuttles Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour to cuddle and watch the indoor area accessible to posjetilje.
The rocket povećih dimensions length 37m. 42m wing span and weight of up to 77 tons (without the three main engines that will be uklonjeli the spacecraft) are very demanding exhibits.
Since future owners NASA spacecraft to seek to remain intact during transportation, not to dismantle for transport, which narrows the choice of their smaller foster parents are only a few museums;
Museum "Evergreen" from McMinnville, 50km from Portland, with over one hundred aircraft in the collection. Here is the Washington National Air and Space Museum, which was tossed about on the Shuttle Discovery. They already have a Shuttle Enterprise, which never flew in space but was used for ground and air tests. He could, after obtaining the Discovery, let another museum. In New York Interpid Sea, Air & Space Museum, under the glass dome at the end of the 46th Street home of some of the shuttle as a great attraction, the largest city in the United States. In Seatleu, on the other side of the U.S. Museum of Flight is the cradle of the local aviation and already have sagađenu hall that expects retired Shuttle ready ..
Shuttle America was made for the purposes of education and public disclosure
In any case, all these transactions must be completed by the end of May 2012th year. If one of the selected foster parents late with the implementation of the spacecraft will have their buildings on their own, additional expense, remove from the aircraft NASAinih locations. After 01 June and the rocket will not be a concern of the American space agencies. To end, let the Russians and how long ago your dividers and space shuttles, and some sold to other countries.
Marino Tumpić