NASA space shuttle: Coming to a city near you?

As the space shuttle program draws to a close, NASA names the four cities that will house Atlantis, Discovery, Endeavour, and Enterprise.

What about Houston?

AP Photo/The Galveston County Daily News, Kevin M. Cox
Visitors and media gathered at Space Center Houston to watch as NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced which museums will receive space shuttles once the fleet is retired later this year. Houston did not receive a shuttle.

There were disappointments across the country, but Houston, home to NASA Mission Control, may have the worst case of the "no space shuttle" blues.

Houston is probably the most disappointed,” says Pearlman. “Tied with Kennedy [Space Center in Florida], they have the strongest historical connection to the space shuttle program.”

In consolation, Bolden said, many institutions that didn’t land a shuttle will get shuttle hardware. That doesn't necessarily ease the sting in Houston.

"This is certainly disappointing, but not entirely unexpected as the Administration has been hinting that Houston would not be a winner in this political competition,” Houston Mayor Annise Parker said in a statement. “There was no other city with our history of human space flight or more deserving of a retiring orbiter.”

5 of 5
You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.