posted 07-03-2012 09:28 AM               

For those who are museum members, the premiere event includes Mario Runco Jr., and Ellen S. Baker (M.D., M.P.H.).

Astronauts scheduled to be present, 19th through 21st: Runco, Jeffrey A. Hoffman (PH.D.), Kevin R. Kregel, Baker, Charles J. Camarda (PH.D.), Michael J. Massimino (PH.D.), Karol J. Bobko (Colonel, USAF, Ret.), and Lee M.E. Morin, M.D., Ph.D. (Captain, USN.

posted 07-17-2012 01:15 PM               

Gordon Fullerton, who is unable to travel, will be represented by his wife, Marie.

posted 07-17-2012 03:27 PM               

Tomorrow, two photographers (Ben Cooper and Katie Darby) and I will be going into the pavilion to produce a preview for collectSPACE. On Thursday, collectSPACE and our partners at SPACE.com will be at the Intrepid to provide full coverage.

posted 07-20-2012 07:36 AM               

Didn't see the Enterprise itself (!) — because the pavilion didn't open to the general public until 2 p.m. and when I went up to the flight deck a little after 3, the line stretched from just before the bridge to the pavilion — or almost three quarters of the carrier. I live in NJ and it's not a hardship to go to the Intrepid, so it's no big deal.

Saw Massimino, Truly and Engle walking in or outside the museum. All the advertised astronauts were there, as well as Melvin. Bolden was there also as well as Garver.

Have to play back the recording, but the Enterprise astronauts received a standing ovation when introduced. Haise called the Enterprise flights the capstone of his career.

As for autographs, there were specific times only when those would be given. There didn't seem to be limits as to how many items signed (although Runco refused to sign a cover and he for the most part insisted on personalizing, I think Hoffman too.)

Originally one could queue up for both astronauts (two at a time were signing), then it was one per astronaut per person — in other words, you went to one astronaut, then if you wanted the other you got in line again, like the 135 crew at the Eventi Hotel. The lines went by fast. All the astronauts there were signing (Bobko wasn't scheduled to sign yesterday) had photos with them.

I got my Space Shuttle: 20 Years book signed by Baker, crossing her off my bucket list (I met her in 2004 but she said she would be only signing for kids). No Engle, as I saw him only outside and on stage.

The bonus, though, was getting my book and a wire photo autographed by Truly, who wasn't doing any formal signings. We got his attention before the ceremony started, and he commented on how much hair he had in that photo (it was taken in 1976!) I welcomed him back to his old ship.

I got photos signed by Camarda (training as backup for ISS Exp. 8) and Kregel, two astronauts I had met but didn't have photos of. Too late (like this morning) I realized I had a photo for Hoffman to sign, the 61E gag photo, but he doesn't like signing crew items of canceled flights, am I correct?

posted 07-20-2012 05:10 PM               

I then set off to get some astronaut autographs, and I met six of the New York-born astronauts at their appointed signing times in the Hangar Deck. Nice touch in providing borderless color portraits of themselves to give out. Mike Massimino mentioned when asked that he should appear in the second episode in the fall of the TV series Big Bang Theory. They also signed my photo of Enterprise landing at Edwards during the ALT flights, in the same way I had astronauts attending Discovery's welcome ceremony at Udvar-Hazy sign a photo of her touching down at KSC.

Then it was off to see the NASA and other exhibitors' booths on the pier and inside the Hangar Deck (Note to New York-area residents or visitors: by requesting 'Pier Access' only, you can get in free to see the exhibits through Sunday, and attend the free showing of the 2009 Star Trek movie on the flight deck Saturday, postponed from tonight). An excellent free souvenir from one of the NASA booths was a 100+ page spiral-bound guide to the ISS, with foldouts, color photos and astronaut crews.

Finally, it was time to see the main attraction. After a short 20-minute wait in line (thanking the heavens that it wasn't raining or being baked by 90 degree-plus heat), I entered the pavilion and was struck by how tight a fit it was, after seeing Enterprise at Udvar-Hazy during my visits there. As it stands now, you can't really take it all in with one look or photo shot; you have to move around and maybe take a photo at an angle from the rear behind the tailcone or from the side, next to the stairways leading up/down from the nose (Memo to museum curators: you might consider covering the opening that exists in the plexiglass between the viewing platform and the nose tip, as one man with very long arms could and did reach out and touch it. Also, mirrors or at least a 360-degree photo could offer a view into the cockpit area, which was kept dark).

The only artifact other than the orbiter on display was the US flag carried by the SCA when it flew in with Enterprise to JFK airport in April; I'm sure other things will be put up for viewing like the flight suit worn by one of the ALT pilots that was on view at Udvar-Hazy for many years. There were also many excellent photos and videos to see around the orbiter, and an 8-minute film on X-planes and the space program narrated by Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy. Not surprisingly, several people came dressed up in Star Trek uniforms to see 'their' starship.

posted 07-20-2012 06:34 PM               

Ah, man, I missed that spiral guide because I didn't visit the pierside booths. But I did pick up a litho of Enterprise, much like the ones done for the other shuttles after the program ended.

posted 07-21-2012 08:30 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by RocketmanRob:
We're looking forward to visiting many more times in the future.

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Uh huh. And hoping that the Enterprise astronauts will still be around when the permanent home is dedicated in two to three years time.

posted 07-21-2012 05:15 PM               

The Intrepid staff are to be commended with helping to make sure my grandmother, who was in a wheelchair (she can walk but cannot stand for long periods of time) had full access, including rising to the platform at the front of Enterprise to view the nose. (Her first comment upon seeing it, "That is big.")

We met briefly with STS-110 mission specialist Lee Morin, who I have interviewed before but I wanted to introduce to my family. My mom was really happy to meet an astronaut.

There were some really great handouts at each of the SpaceFest booths. I noticed Webb Space Telescope decals and tattoos, Commercial Crew stickers and posters, and International Space Station magnets. Almost every booth had nicely laminated bookmarks, ranging from Space Launch System to Mars Science Laboratory.

I bumped into cS'er Mark Usciak outside the shuttle pavilion, and saw some familiar faces among the SpaceFest exhibits, including managers and public affairs representatives from Lockheed and NASA, as well as Space Camp's marketing director.

posted 07-23-2012 01:00 PM            

On Saturday, after a decent night's slepp, I arrived at the Intrepid at around 9:00 a.m. and waited for it to open at 10. I hadn't planed to arrive an hour early, but this was an example how when one allows extra time, they usually arrive with time to spare. Shortly after 10 I entered the complex and Dr. Ellen Baker and Dr. Garrett Reisman was on peir 86.