Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Arrives To Retrieve Discovery

[APG85]

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/ ... l-journey/

[APG85]

"Spot the Shuttle" website below...

http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/d ... fm?id=3783

[TAdan]

I am happy to see NASA and the NASM publicizing moving the shuttles as much as they have. I am hoping I can spot Enterprise on her way to JFK and the Intrepid. Can't wait to see some of the excellent pictures people will come up with when Discovery fly's over D.C.

[CH2Tdriver]

Check this out. NASA 905 has mission tally markings!

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-040412b.html

[ZRX61]

905 was flying around Palmdale 2 weeks ago

[Jerry O'Neill]

I'm off from school next week so I might chance it and take my grandsons down to DC to see the spectacle!
Jerry

[p51]

This is hilarious, showing up close the attachment point on the top of one of the SCA 747s (905, I think):

Show of hands; would would love to see the final move have the 747 buzz the field, go up to several thousand feet, then the crew inside of orbiter re-enacts the Enterprise tests and detaches in flight and lands on it's own! Yeah, i know, it'd never happen, but it is a nice dream, huh?

I am still chuckling about something I saw on a space collecting forum. Recently, a set of patches commemorating the final ferry flights went up on eBay. They were made for the flight crews of the NASA 747 transporter. They also made a patch for the plane crew as well recently. The first set of shuttle patches went into a bidding frenzy and went for over $350 (for three newly-made patches. The second set on eBay went for over $150). I had posted on that forum that I felt it was foolish to pay premium prices for an item that is being made right now, which didn't go over well AT ALL there. Never tell someone they are a sucker, I guess. Looking for the dedicated 747 patch, I asked the question on a non-space related forum after hearing that there was a gift shop at Edwards AFB that sells that one and asking if anyone would be there soon to grab one for me. I got a response there with a phone number to call directly. I did so this morning on a break at work and got a very nice lady who said, "Do you want any of the final shuttle ferry flight patches as well?" Yes, the very same patches that someone paid over a hundred dollars each for could be mine for just five bucks each! Not bad for just twenty bucks, huh? I ordered two sets because I thought it'd be nice to have a second set to trade with, then warned the lady that she would be getting a lot of calls very soon. She understood and agreed space collectors are nuts (she knew about the eBay set going for so much and we had a good laugh over that). After the call, I went back to the original space collector forum and proved myself right that the following buyers would get theirs for next to nothing. I even posted the phone number (I decided just once to be a nice guy). An hour later someone replied there, saying the gift shop got flooded with phone calls, they're now sold out (which took less than 30 minutes) and it'll be weeks before they get more.
I've been told that they will be on sale if you can catch the crews as they deliver each orbiter to the museum sites.
This is the patch I was originally calling about:

and these were the ones I also got:



Hell, I might put one complete set up on eBay and pay for the whole deal!

And on the subject, check this out, it’s the official patch for the SCA crew for the final ferry moves. I really like this one. I really don’ t need any of these things but I want to get one of these patches. I’ve also read that this being the official NASA patch for the moves, it probably will be sold in bulk and should be easy to get once they start making them.

More on it here: http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-041312a.html

[JohnB]

Any idea what will happen to the 747s when all the moves are finished?

[N3Njeff]

Any idea what will happen to the 747s when all the moves are finished?

Maybe they will be retired and Houston will get one and then put a big plywood cut out of a shuttle on top of it.

[Anthony Svihlik]

Any idea what will happen to the 747s when all the moves are finished?

John-

NASA 911 has been retired after making its final flight on February 8:

NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft 911's Final Flight

Once the orbiters have been delivered to their respective museums, both NASA 911 and 905 will be used as a source of spare parts to support NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Boeing 747SP aircraft:

SOFIA - NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

Anthony

[APG85]

A little history on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (with interior pictures) in an article from Collectspace.com

http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-041212a.html

[APG85]

Discovery has been towed out of the Vehicle Assembly Building and is now at the Mate/De-mate area...

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/ ... al-flight/

[peter]

Two shuttles last time seen together ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YySY-l0-RCw

Mounting discovery for her final ever flight ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9seUbXNN6vM

[old iron]

Ahhhh, what is a "Phantom Ray"?

[Anthony Svihlik]

Ahhhh, what is a "Phantom Ray"?

Kevin-

The Phantom Ray is a unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator being developed by Boeing using company funds. It originated from the company's X-45 vehicle which was involved in the Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems project with Northrop Grumman's X-47. The Navy selected the X-47 as its unmanned combat air system demonstrator program, aimed at creating unmanned aircraft for use aboard aircraft carriers.

Anthony