Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Shame on NASA....Houston Has a Problem..

Since the beginning of the space program, Houston and the Johnson Space center have been involved in the progression and growth of NASA. However when the Shuttles are retired, Houston is not given a Shuttle for display. The decision makers felt they were better served giving one to L.A.  I just can not believe NASA would disrespect and snub the families of the astronauts who were killed in the two shuttle accidents, but they did. It is apparent that NASA caved in to political pressure, and that is disgusting. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, Houston, Texas has been the backbone of the space program. Remember the phrase that is etched into all of our minds. "HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM". Not Washington we have a problem, not California we have a problem, but HOUSTON, we have a problem.  It was Houston and the men and women who played a major role in getting our Apollo "13" astronauts back from their failed trip to the moon. I do not know what the decision makers were smoking when they made their decision on who would receive one of the "3" remaining shuttles, but it sure altered their thinking. In my opinion, The Shuttles should have gone to,

1. Houston Space Center - Atlantis
2. The Smithsonian - Discovery
3.Dayton, Ohio - Enterprise
4.The Cape - Endeavor

Houston was not the only snub, what about the birth place of flight? A shuttle should have been place at Dayton Ohio the home the National Museum of the United States Air Force, which happens to be 5 miles from Kitty Hawk, humm, but that makes sense.  What was NASA thinking..I have no idea, whatever it is they need to clear their minds, and have a DO-OVER. Below is a the consolation prize that awaits Houston, as reported by Eric Berger.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7519059.html

NASA also announced Tuesday the locations that will receive various shuttle simulators and trainers, and Space Center Houston was not among them. The city's consolation prize will be, instead, pilot and commanders' shuttle seats that have flown on orbit. Space Center Houston officials expressed hope that they may still be able to claim remnants of the Columbia orbiter, which disintegrated above Texas in 2003 during its return to Earth. Those pieces, in a large warehouse, could provide a fitting tribute to NASA's astronauts.
It's a plan supported by several family members of the Columbia and Challenger tragedies who wanted one of the retiring orbiters displayed in Houston. "We are heartbroken to learn of the decision that the space shuttle will not be allowed to return home to Houston," said Evelyn Husband Thompson, Jonathan Clark, Sandy Anderson, Lorna Onizuka and Cheryl McNair, in a joint statement. "Home is where the heart is, and Houston has served as the heart of the space shuttle program since its inception nearly four decades ago. All the astronauts lost were Houston residents. We again share a collective loss as a result of the political decision to send the space shuttle elsewhere."
Washington Bureau reporter Stewart Powell contributed to this report.

As a Texan, I have made countless trips to the Johnson space City, and have had a couple of behind the scene tours. It is a wonderful place to visit with countless historical items to visit with so many ties to the shuttle program. one of the shuttles belong here, not in L.A., not in Washington, but here in Houston, Texas. It is not a decision of dollars, but of respect to the families and the employees that made the shuttle program work. Without Houston, you have no shuttle program.  There was no doubt in my mind that Houston was going to receive on of the 3 remaining shuttles or at the least "Endeavor" the first prototype. I had no doubt what so-ever.  So, thank you NASA for thanking the City of Houston, the men and women of the Space program that have dedicated their lives to the space program and most of all, thank you for all of the respect you gave to the families of the deceased Astronauts of the Challenger and Columbia, it is apparent that they must have been on your mind when the decision was made to award the shuttles. If I had a say in all of this, I would say the following....................."Hitch up a trailer to your truck and come pick up all of your stuff that has anything to do with your space program...You have kicked us in the butt for the last time.


Until the next time....May God Bless You and God Bless America...

"Shady"

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