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Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

I have to agree with the above. Yes, the pictures are cool and everything, but the reality is that the only reason NYC is getting a shuttle to display is because Bloomberg and crew are unabashed socialists just like our current WH occupant. Sorry to politicize this, but it's a real slap in the face to the men and women who made this program work down at Mission Control in Houston when NYC (which has nothing whatsoever to do with the space program) gets a shuttle and Houston (with a huge staff of NASA personnel and contracting companies nearby) gets nothing (other than pink slips).

Like everything else with Obama, this is all political, which bites.

And yes, the Enterprise was a "drop" vehicle - never flew in space. It was used to test the aerodynamic properties of the vehicle in the late 1970s. The first two orbiters (Columbia and Challenger) were destroyed. Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor are going to the Smithsonian (DC), KSC and to Los Angeles, respectively. Los Angeles is even a bit odd as a venue, although partially justifiable historically since there is a rich aerospace history in/around L.A. Even so, I'm sure the selection of LA was made as a political gesture, not a nod to history. Enterprise should have gone there since it flew in the Mojave desert out of Edwards, not to NYC. One going to the Smithsonian I can see, as well as KSC. The allocation (IMHO) should have been:

Enterprise: LA - Mojave probably would be better both from a preservation standpoint and since the new Spaceport USA is going in there
Discovery: Houston
Atlantis: Smithsonian
Endeavor: KSC

Just one more reason to utterly despise this administration. Sorry for the PARF but the space program is something I've always felt passionate about and to see it treated the way it's being treated - as a political bullet point - just gets me P.O. ed. I hope the residents of NYC at least go see/enjoy the display. I'd hate to see it rotting away in the salt air 30 years from now, all but forgotten, which sadly is what I think is going to happen.