14 DAY TRIAL // Recent developments appear to indicate that the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in Washington DC and the NASA Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, will receive a space shuttle each, for permanent display.
The soon-to-be-retired orbiters don't yet have an official home, but preparations at the two facilities are already underway, and they will most likely be able to receive the orbiters once they cease their flights, in 2011. The Smithsonian was promised a shuttle since 2008.
Over the past couple of months, various agreements and understandings helped remove the obstacles standing in the way of the orbiters' respective transfer, and also clarified the associated logistics.
The Washington museum was supposed to get the shuttle Discovery, as agreed with NASA two years ago. But it was recently determined that the institution cannot afford the $42 million price tag.
These costs are related to the processing and transport of the orbiter, which the American space agency determined could raise to this hefty sum. In more recent developments, NASA dropped the price to $28.8 million, but says it's unwilling to support those costs.
However, a new piece of legislation currently being pushed through Congress could allow for the agency to do just that. If the bill passes, then the primary obstacle in the path of Smithsonian getting Discovery will be eliminated.
The House of Representatives narrowly passed a continuing resolution (CR) on December 8, which included a special provision related to the Smithsonian and the acquisition of a space shuttle.
In short, the new law exempts the museum from bearing the transportation and preparation costs associated with getting a NASA orbiter.
“Should the [NASA] Administrator determine that the Smithsonian Institution is an appropriate venue for an orbiter, such orbiter shall be made available to the Smithsonian at no or nominal cost,” the bill read, Space reports.
On the other hand, the KSC, located in Cape Canaveral, does not need to support such huge costs, as any shuttle they get would simply have to be rolled from its hanger to the Visitor Complex.
This Wednesday, December 15, officials from the Complex announced their intention to build a $100 million center that will enable them to display whichever shuttle they receive in its full glory.
The NASA spaceport has been the home of the shuttles for nearly three decades, and as such it stands to reason that it should be awarded custody of Enterprise or Atlantis.
The national competition among museums is still on for whichever of the two does not go to the KSC, as well as for the shuttle demonstrator Enterprise, which is now located at the Smithsonian.
If the Washington institution gets Discovery, then it will need to give Enterprise to someone else.