Ongoing Space Shuttle Columbia investigation

[STSF_BluRox 0]

(Here is an excerpt from a CNN article today about the Space Shuttle Columbia investigation. The URL for the full article is listed at the end. I found this interesting.)

 

In the first round of foam-impact tests, five chunks of foam weighing 1 to 21/2 pounds each were fired through the 33-foot barrel of a nitrogen-pressurized gun at thermal tiles on a main landing gear door, at speeds up to 565 mph. The door was removed from the Enterprise, a prototype spaceship that was never launched and is housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2003....ex.html

 

Also, for those that did not know, the Smithsonian has been constructing a new facility at Reagan National Airport for their large exhibit's that have previously been offlimits (or private tour) to the public. Scheduled to open in December of 2003, The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will prominently display the Space Shuttle Enterprise, Lockheed S-71 Blackbird, the Enola Gay (which actually did make a brief stint in the NASM in DC) and others. It will open in approximately 214 days, 11 hours and 10 minutes from now.

 

You can see more on this at the following URL:

 

http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/ext/

[FredM 0]

Interesting and even more interesting...looks like I'll have to come back to Washington in a few years. ::evil grin:: Muahaha...

[Atragon9 0]

Also, for those that did not know, the Smithsonian has been constructing a new facility at Reagan National Airport for their large exhibit's that have previously been offlimits (or private tour) to the public. Scheduled to open in December of 2003, The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will prominently display the Space Shuttle Enterprise, Lockheed S-71 Blackbird, the Enola Gay (which actually did make a brief stint in the NASM in DC) and others. It will open in approximately 214 days, 11 hours and 10 minutes from now.

 

You can see more on this at the following URL:

 

http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/ext/

Yes, we've been waiting for the "extension" to be completed here in the DC area for years.  It will actually be an annex of Dulles International Airport, not National (National is right across the river from DC and there's no room, Dulles is about 20 minutes away and there's LOTS of space).

 

If anyone is in town before then and wants to see a COOL tour - they should go to the Paul Garber Facility in Silver Hill, MD.  This is the NASM's "attic" with acres and acres of warehouses filled to the brim with aircraft and spacecraft that isn't on current display.  That's where the Enola Gay is housed now, it's where you can see them working on restoration projects (WWII Bombers, etc.)  You need to make an appointment for a tour ahead of time, but it's well worth it for air and space nuts!

[Guest STSF Dacotah]

If anyone is in town before then and wants to see a COOL tour - they should go to the Paul Garber Facility in Silver Hill, MD.

Hmph, and here I thought he was going to offer up use of the guest suite.  

 

Dac

[STSF_BluRox 0]

Also, for those that did not know, the Smithsonian has been constructing a new facility at Reagan National Airport for their large exhibit's that have previously been offlimits (or private tour) to the public. Scheduled to open in December of 2003, The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will prominently display the Space Shuttle Enterprise, Lockheed S-71 Blackbird, the Enola Gay (which actually did make a brief stint in the NASM in DC) and others. It will open in approximately 214 days, 11 hours and 10 minutes from now.

 

You can see more on this at the following URL:

 

http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/ext/

Yes, we've been waiting for the "extension" to be completed here in the DC area for years.  It will actually be an annex of Dulles International Airport, not National (National is right across the river from DC and there's no room, Dulles is about 20 minutes away and there's LOTS of space).

 

If anyone is in town before then and wants to see a COOL tour - they should go to the Paul Garber Facility in Silver Hill, MD.  This is the NASM's "attic" with acres and acres of warehouses filled to the brim with aircraft and spacecraft that isn't on current display.  That's where the Enola Gay is housed now, it's where you can see them working on restoration projects (WWII Bombers, etc.)  You need to make an appointment for a tour ahead of time, but it's well worth it for air and space nuts!

Actually, the Enola Gay was moved to the new Udvar-Hazy center last week. There are pictures of the move on the NASM web site.

[HyperDrive 0]

Heh.... I'll be in the D.C. area in about a month......... Who wants to go out for a tour of the NASM? :)

 

~HD

[Images 0]

space nuts!

Mmmmmmmmmm...nuts

[Yvon Hawke 0]

Also, for those that did not know, the Smithsonian has been constructing a new facility at Reagan National Airport for their large exhibit's that have previously been offlimits (or private tour) to the public. Scheduled to open in December of 2003, The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will prominently display the Space Shuttle Enterprise, Lockheed S-71 Blackbird, the Enola Gay (which actually did make a brief stint in the NASM in DC) and others. It will open in approximately 214 days, 11 hours and 10 minutes from now.

 

You can see more on this at the following URL:

 

http://www.nasm.si.edu/nasm/ext/

Yes, we've been waiting for the "extension" to be completed here in the DC area for years.  It will actually be an annex of Dulles International Airport, not National (National is right across the river from DC and there's no room, Dulles is about 20 minutes away and there's LOTS of space).

 

If anyone is in town before then and wants to see a COOL tour - they should go to the Paul Garber Facility in Silver Hill, MD.  This is the NASM's "attic" with acres and acres of warehouses filled to the brim with aircraft and spacecraft that isn't on current display.  That's where the Enola Gay is housed now, it's where you can see them working on restoration projects (WWII Bombers, etc.)  You need to make an appointment for a tour ahead of time, but it's well worth it for air and space nuts!

Ya. I know Dulles. ALmsot a bad experience as a pilot.

 

I was doing my Instrument cross country and we decided to make the trip worth our while rather than just going back and forth from Bangor, Maine (the usual cross country flight for training at my school).

 

I had a huge headache from wearing a special hat that kept me from looking outside(and force me to fly strictly on instruments), turning from my base leg onto final approach in my little four-banger and the tower calling me to expedite my landing because I had a King Air earing arce right behind me on short final.

 

Dang, I must have landed my plane in zero zero and at cruising speed. I've never greased a landing like that before.

 

The next morning when we went to start up the plane to leave, I turned the ignition and nothing happened... the starter was gone! My instructor had to hand-start the engine.

 

That was my real life time at Dulles.

 

I also flew the American Airlines Airbus 300 simulator at the academy in Fort Worth and it used the Dulles airport. My father brought me back in 88. I sat in the back and laughed at my father over six hours on 2 days and the instructor said afterwards that since I was laughing to see how I'd do. I did good for a first time in a multimillion dollar machine. No crashes. So, I was there kinda twice.

 

But, I can't wait for the new facility to be completed.

 

Tomorrow, I'm heading with my father to the Air Force Museum on Ohio where they've just opened up the Cold War Era hangar. Very exciting. My father served from '52 to '65. A lot of history there.