Joe, debate no more... I am going to be in Washington D.C. for the inbound just because you never know. As you said... once in a lifetime and never again!
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Joe, debate no more... I am going to be in Washington D.C. for the inbound just because you never know. As you said... once in a lifetime and never again!
Speaking of DC, I heard they were going to circle Discovery around DC before they land at Dulles.
I was curious if anyone in the DC area has heard any other specific info about the flight plan yet ?
All this talk about the Enterprise is great but what about all those historic aircraft already on the Intrepid Flight Deck? Where will they go? To be honest, they are more historic than a prototype Orbiter with no engines which never even went into Space. Rumor has it that we might lose the Concorde here in NYC to make room on the pier for the other aircraft. That would be a shame as NYC had at least 4 regular Concorde flights daily for over 2 decades. If we lose "Alpha-Delta" the closest Concorde would be in Chantilly Virginia! I understand that the agreement with British Airways expires in 2013 and the aircraft could be removed. That would break my heart! The Intrepid broke their promise to build a shelter for its Concorde so British Airways could remove the beloved aircraft.
Ironically, I leave to Orlando on April 17th, and I'll be down there for 5 weeks...gonna miss it all. I'm hoping for steady t-storms in NYC that whole time. :)
Thinking about heading out for the day!
Delta has a couple of open seats.
Can the locals help out a couple of out-of-towners?
jeremy in Minnesota
Jeremy, I just sent you a PM. Feel free to hang out with me on Monday... if there are no seats available in my ride, I am certain one of the other locals could lend you a seat :P
Does anybody on this board have an educated guess on what could potentially cause a change in the day? I know that weather can affect this, but exactly how bad would the weather have to get before they postponed? Many a travelers plan to witness a launch was foiled sometimes at the last minute. Will they still fly if it's raining, even if not a steady downpour? Would winds like we had on Monday cause it to be postponed? Or are we talking about only weather that cancels regular pax flights having the potential to screw things up.
thanks in advance people
and Jeremy if I come to NY instead of going to Dulles you guys are more than welcome to ride around with me- I would just have to leave town by about 4-5 to get back to Philly
Tickets are booked! Looking forward to seeing all the NYCA'er!!!!!
Any information on fly bys around Manhattan by the 747/Enterprise stack?
There has been some info on it flying up the Hudson river to GWB and by Statue of Liberty etc. Just too bad they don't give us time to shoot that and make it to JFK for the landing :P
The only motion picture I can think of showing a Shuttle piggy-backed aboard a NASA B747 is "Moonraker". As an enthusiast, it was very upsetting to see the B747 destroyed like that. Fortunately, Enterprise has no engines. The Bond film was about a terrorist who was stealing our Shuttle fleet so he could rule the world!
I remember that Bond scene and being confused as to why the Shuttle was carrying fuel while being transported
The SCA and Shuttle do not fly in rain anywhere along their route. So you not only need good Weather in NYC, you need it everywhere from DC up. I'd kill to be up there with y'all, but the logistical nightmare of getting around NYC when I can't legally rent a car (not 21) poses too many issues
I think given that these are no longer "operational" shuttles, they may relax the rules a bit.
From what I was reading elsewhere, there are two issues with flying in the rain. The part you always hear about is rain damage to the tiles, and while that wouldn't be an issue for flying the shuttle again, it will could result in repairs being needed before it is put on display. The other issue, more important here, is that the tiles absorb water, and could cause issues with weight and CG on the SCA/Shuttle combo.
After Columbia's loss,they actually harvested part of the leading edge of Enterprise's wing for testing because it apparent does have all the accoutrements on the exterior. I guess you want your test article to be as realistic as possible.
It does have tiles, and you can see where they removed a section of the wing leading edge during the Columbia investigation.
http://www.moose135photography.com/T...nFdNR-XL-2.jpg
I am not a rocket scientist, but I will be staying at a Holiday Inn during my visit....
I would think there was a grave concern that the ceramic tile is a porous material and rain/water would be absorbed into the tile structure. This would be come a problem as the shuttle enters space and the water either freezes, expanding and cracking the tiles; or the water boils off (again expansion) in the absence of any atmospheric pressure and could cause steam pops/fractures to the tiles.
I am hoping for sunny skies and warm temps so we do not have to worry about any of this on the 23rd!
Enterprise does not have a genuine TPS (silica tiles). The tiles are foam replicas. When Enterprise was rolled out for the ALT's the TPS was still being perfected, nor was it required for the ALT's. Had NASA stuck to the original plan and refitted Enterprise for space flight, the TPS would have been added as well engines etc....
You may recall seing pics of Columbia in 1979 being flown from Palmdale to KSC with hundreds of tiles missing. They were having difficulty with the glues among other things with the TPS and needed to get Columbia to KSC ASAP. So they sent her unfinished and completed the job at KSC when they got the bugs worked out. But those photos is what gave the public the perception that the tiles would start to fly off the shuttle if one got loose.
Hi and the best wishes from Berlin Germany!
I/we fly next friday for shuttle arrival to JFK. "strange" ;-)
I have some question, does anybody knows the time of arrival or the expected runway?
Cheers and thanks for the help
Andre Oferta
10:30AM arrival
Thanks a lot!
Ohh, my fault :smile:
I use www.suncalc.net to check the position of the sun and when they really use RWY31L the Shuttle/NASA 747 have the sunlight on the butt " in germany we use the word buttlight" :cool:
It is possible to catch the shuttle on the turn to RWY31L ???
Or any other ideas?
Which position you prefer??
I/we would like to have perfect light conditions when the sun is shining!
Thanks again
Thanks Bill!
Since it is all about the logistics and the above post is very confusing for the out-town-guy. Will JFK be the best photo op? Sounds like the "butt-light" is not ideal for a 1030 arrival would LGA afford better photo ops? Either that or it is time to get a boat or "Taco-copter"?
definitely Taco Copter
I can't ****ing wait guys! I'll deal with butt light for this because with all the great info Bill hooked us up with, it doesn't say which rwy at LGA she will make her approach at. Plus I want to be in a spot where I can get tire smoke on touchdown so Bayswater it will be for me.
Ugh, I have a meeting Monday morning, but at 1500' over the Lady, I should be able to see it from my desk! I would, however, really, really, really like a 1-day weather delay.
Up to 400mm.
NASA has a Shuttle Ferry Flight status page here:
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/ferry/status.html
It has been continually updated with the status of preparations for the flight from KSC to Dulles. The last entry, dated today at 3:15PM EDT reads:
I expect once this flight is done, they will pick up with the status of Enterprise's trip to New York.Quote:
The space shuttle Discovery is ready for the piggyback ride to the Smithsonian on Tuesday morning. Final securing of the ship atop its modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft has been completed and the four-point lifting sling just detached and retracted from the orbiter.