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Author
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Topic: 4/23: Shuttle Enterprise's ferry flight to New York
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RocketmanRob
Member Posts: 268
From: New York City USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 05-02-2012 11:38 AM
   
Does anyone know when they plan to demate Enterprise from the SCA. It would be great to get some pictures of that.
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-02-2012 11:41 AM
NASA said it will take a few weeks to move to New York and re-stage at JFK the two cranes used at Dulles to load Enterprise onto the SCA. The larger of the two cranes requires a convoy of 60 trucks to move all its parts. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42986
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-08-2012 10:26 AM
Johnson Space Center has now posted on Flickr many more air-to-air photos of Enterprise's ferry flight: |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 05-08-2012 03:14 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
NASA said it will take a few weeks to move to New York and re-stage at JFK the two cranes used at Dulles to load Enterprise onto the SCA.
Now isn't that ironic. Enterprise is in New York and they can't get a construction crane to take it off the plane. in New York?  Yes, I KNOW the cranes are pretty specialized pieces of equipment and the contractors using them have experience doing this sort of thing. So the job of moving a 150,000 orbiter isn't something that can be given to anyone. But we ARE talking about the most industrialized city in the USA where cranes are likely somewhat plentiful since BIG construction projects certainly are. Oh well.  |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 05-08-2012 04:32 PM
It should be noted: during the 'prologue' interview conducted with NASA Associate Admin. Bill Gerstenmaier at Dulles before Discovery's acceptance ceremony and display inside Udvar-Hazy, he did mention that the cranes, other associated equipment and personnel were getting their first workout using them on an actual orbiter, as they would have been if a TAL shuttle abort to Rota, Spain or another location would have caused their use in retrieving an orbiter from a faraway landing. So a delay of a few weeks doesn't sound too bad, especially if all the cranes in NY are spoken for.  |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 05-09-2012 11:10 PM
Well, while waiting for the cranes to arrive, think of the fun somebody could have at JFK with the 747 and Enterprise. Pull the pair up to a jetway at the international terminal and see how many people notice for instance? Then REALLY have some fun and say you are selling rides on it. There is one ironic bit to this whole thing. When American Airlines got their 747s back in the early 1970s, I don't believe they were using them on international routes (or very few). Most of them ended up flying transcontinental flights from the east coast to LA. So one of the very first destinations for this particular 747 during its brief time in commercial service likely was JFK. |
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