Decommissioning the Space Shuttles

I try to go to Kennedy Space Center as much as possible. It is really sad for me to see this. I used to be able to watch these amazing machines blast into space from my house.
 
I have a good friend that lives in Merritt Island that was a crew leader on the shuttles he just retired at the end of last summer when it was all winding down. He has very interesting stories to tell about them. He was also an employee when GE owned them and said they were much better taken care of then. When the new owners bought them they were pretty much rode hard and put away wet in the last few years. I, as probably most people do, always thought NASA owned them until talking with him. He was saying that the shuttle program shutting down is estimated to effect 3000 workers in the immediate area and as much as 30,000 employees nation wide.
 
my family got to go down to florida and see cape canaveral and all.. we were really awed by it all. so sorry to see the program end. hopefully something will soon take its place.
 
We were supposed to get one. If your ever in Ohio. You have to see the National Air Force Museum in Dayton.
 
That sucks, I kno it cost a lot of money to fund the program but those rockets really give america something that it can be proud of. What a shame it has to end
 
Concours.John said:
We were supposed to get one. If your ever in Ohio. You have to see the National Air Force Museum in Dayton.
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I remember seeing a SR-71 there when I was a kid (have been in almost 20 years, jeeze I'm getting old!). The SR-71 is the closest thing to a space shuttle (with out blasting off) we have.

KSC (Kennedy Space Center), IMO, is a must see stop if you are in Florida. It's just too cool.

Quick and True Story: Mr. X was visiting from the great white north (Mr. X is the guy who owns the crazy car collection that I detail in my "adventure stories) and we went to KSC. They have this cool area where you do a simulated launch of a Saturn V rocket from the launch control center, then walk out into the Saturn V display room.

There is an original paint 1969 Stringray (427) that used to belong to one of the astronauts on display, so being car guys, Mr. X and I make a bee-line to it. We are staring at it in awe, looking at the paint, picking it appart, I am thinking "a quick polish and this will look awesome", Mr. X is considering buying it (probably). Finally we turn our heads and see the Saturn V rocket, in all of its glory, laying down, extending forward.

If you have never seen a Saturn V, you MUST! They are awesome, you could stand up tall in each one (of FIVE) of the rocket thrusters. Each rocket thruster produces 1,500,000 pounds of boost for a total of 7.5 MILLION pounds of boost. Apparently on lift off, it was so loud (louder than an A bomb) that it could be felt as far away as Orlando and heard as far away as Tampa. Just amazing!

PS Mr.X ended up making an offer on Neil Armstrong's space suit (seriously, you cannot take that guy anywhere). I won't even go into what it like taking that guy to South Beach, it is like baby sitting.
 
I have love all things space travel since being a kid, well let's face it, I am still a kid. Anyway, this is sad to see the shuttle program close. Very interesting, thanks for sharing.
 
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