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Author
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Topic: 7/26: Space & Science Festival at Intrepid (NYC)
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onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 07-27-2015 01:53 PM
   
This past weekend, the annual Space and Science Festival at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space museum came to a close with a visit by retired shuttle astronaut Pam Melroy. One of only three women to pilot a shuttle, and one of two (together with Eileen Collins) to command a shuttle mission, she was interviewed by ABC reporter Lynn Sherr.After a warm introduction by former astronaut Mike Massimino, now an advisor to the Intrepid (he praised Melroy as a great person and astronaut), Sherr took the audience through Melroy's career as a budding flyer, ROTC cadet at Wellesley College and service in the Air Force during Desert Storm over Kuwait in 1991. Melroy pointed out that at the time she flew her missions, piloting a KC-10 tanker aircraft, the policies regarding women flying planes putting them in direct combat with the enemy were changing, even though she was technically in a support role but nevertheless was flying thru hostile airspace. Melroy then related how she had to make a difficult choice in her career: accept an offer to go to a fighter unit, as they were short of pilots; or go to test pilot school to realize her dream of becoming an astronaut, one she had since watching the Apollo 11 moon landing. She chose to go to Edwards AFB, and says she had the most rewarding flying experiences of her career there. After three tries, she was finally accepted by NASA and went on to fly three times, her last mission in command of STS-120. She called that flight her most difficult but rewarding, especially when piloting the shuttle to a docking to the ISS and then to a landing back on earth. After retiring from NASA and the Air Force, she now has a position with DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Lynn Sherr then had a signing for her book on Sally Ride, and Melroy took part in an Intrepid members-only meet and greet, where she signed autographs and Hubble@25 exhibit posters were given out. Alan Stern, of the New Horizons Pluto mission, then gave a lecture with the latest images from the probe to close out the festival. |
MarylandSpace
Member Posts: 1336
From:
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 07-27-2015 03:35 PM
Nice report. Many of us wish we could have been there and having your report envisions us to what happened. |
astro-nut
Member Posts: 946
From: Washington, IL
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 07-29-2015 04:00 PM
Last week, I, too, was at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. It is a neat museum to go to and it was loaded with a lot of items from the Hubble Space Shuttle missions. They have a replica of a Gemini capsule and over on the right side of Intrepid is another replica of the Gemini 3 being hoisted out of the water. Of course, the grand attraction was the Shuttle Enterprise! |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1310
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 07-30-2015 08:36 AM
Hate to nitpick, but you mean the starboard side nearest the island superstructure (with the bow pointing toward Manhattan, the 'right' side). Yes, the Intrepid has become quite a must-see attraction for air and space fans. It also highlights the recovery of Scott Carpenter's Aurora 7 with a Mercury capsule replica and period film. When it first opened in 1982, it was more air and sea and very little space (a few photos and scale models of rockets and spacecraft). But with its overhaul several years ago, and the addition of Enterprise, it has become a much better museum. | |
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