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Author
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Topic: Air Mobility Command Museum (DE): Shuttle "key"
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Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 02-23-2013 09:45 AM
   
I'm signed up for email from the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, DE. They were one of the emergency landing sites for the shuttle. In their last email they said: Did you know that Runway 14/32 (12,903 feet long) at Dover AFB was an Emergency Landing Strip for the Space Shuttle? Because of that the base Fire Department received special training and they held a very special artifact, a Key to the Shuttle. When the last shuttle was retired we retrieved the key and it is now on display at the base of our tower so you can see it and read all about it. I will say it's not the kind of key you'd want to carry in your pocket. Thanks to the Fire Department for donating it to the museum. There isn't a web link but here is the attached photo they sent.  I will do my best to get down there (two hour drive or so, not that long) in late March or so. |
p51
Member Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 02-23-2013 10:36 AM
It's a really good museum they have there, so many improvements have been made in recent years.There were many USAF bases that were considered aux landing sites for the shuttles, I wonder whatever happened to all these hatch tools? I'd bet a lot of them got thrown away by people who had no clue what they were for (or just didn't care) or being used as supports for tools in someone's workshop... |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 02-23-2013 11:15 AM
Well in that email they said 'we retrieved' not sure if they are using 'we' referring to the Museum or to the Fire Department. If it was the Fire Department that retrieved it then that could imply it was going to be scrapped. |
Hart Sastrowardoyo
Member Posts: 3445
From: Toms River, NJ
Registered: Aug 2000
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posted 02-23-2013 08:46 PM
Waddaya mean it's a key that I wouldn't want to carry in my pocket?! Considering three shuttles are within easy drive/flight of where I live, I'd wanna carry it and test it out to see whether or not it actually works...  |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 02-24-2013 12:07 PM
I wonder how many of these they made. I get that they are a bit hard to loose but is it possible they made more that one per shuttle? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-24-2013 12:16 PM
These "keys" were part of the hatch mechanism. You can see another that was ceremoniously presented to The Museum in Flight for the Full Fuselage Trainer here, and I saw it (or another one just like it) in use when I toured the mockup at the museum. |
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