Museum of Flight prepares to welcome shuttle trainer

NASA's full-fuselage trainer has helped train every crew in the U.S. space shuttle program and is coming to Seattle to stay in just under two weeks. The Museum of Flight will become the FFT's permanent home where visitors can step inside for an astronaut's-eye view.

The massive wooden structure is being flown to Seattle in sections in the Super Guppy cargo plane. The front end of the FFT is scheduled to arrive in front of dignitaries and cheering spectators at Seattle's Boeing Field shortly before noon Saturday, June 30.

To read more about the full-fuselage trainer, the Super Guppy or the events surrounding its arrival, see yesterday's front page article and supplementary information published by the Seattle Times.

Recent Seattle Times articles on the full-fuselage trainer's arrival:

NASA's full-size shuttle trainer hitching a ride to Seattle
Oddball NASA craft is perfect for hauling shuttle trainer to Seattle
Astronaut helping transport NASA trainer to area is Seattle native

The Museum of Flight in Seattle welcomes first portion of NASA's Space Shuttle Trainer

This morning, as the space shuttle Discovery made its dramatic arrival in Washington D.C., The Museum of Flight in Seattle unveiled the first sections of NASA's Space Shuttle Trainer, three Engine Bells, which will be permanently housed at the Museum’s Charles Simonyi Space Gallery.

Museum of Flight President and CEO Doug King hosted a brief news conference to announce the arrival and to unpack one of the three Engine Bells, which are approximately nine feet in diameter and roughly 800 pounds each. The Shuttle Trainer is being delivered in several stages in the coming months, with the most recognizable portion – the Crew Compartment – tentatively scheduled for delivery on June 16 aboard NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft.

Workers remove one of the three Engine Bells from the Shuttle Trainer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Each Engine Bell is approximately nine feet in diameter and weighs more than 800 pounds. Photo courtesy of NASA.   

Built in the 1970s, the Shuttle Trainer is the only one of its kind in the world and is the simulator in which every space shuttle astronaut trained for space flight. It will be on display in the 15,500-sq.-ft. Charles Simonyi Space Gallery, where it will be joined by a collection of other rare space artifacts including Simonyi’s Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft and interactive exhibits showcasing space travel from the earliest days of the space shuttle program to the future of commercial space. 

See the Seattle PI's story here. Or check out The Seattle Times' take here.  

Museum of Flight awarded Full-Fuselage Trainer

On April 12 NASA announced the future homes of the retiring space shuttles Endeavour, Atlantis, Discovery, and Enterprise. While the Museum of Flight was not chosen as a recipient for one of the shuttles, they were presented the honor of housing the full-fuselage trainer, an exciting alternative. The Seattle community responded positively to the acquisition of the trainer as it was learned that people will actually be able to go inside of it and walk around, unlike the space shuttles which can be used only for display. Check out some of the great local coverage that the Museum received:

NASA announces date that space shuttle placement decision is to be revealed: April 12, 2011

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden revealed at a House committee hearing last week that a decision regarding placement for the retiring space shuttle orbiters will be announced Tuesday, April 12. The Museum of Flight in Seattle is one of 27 institutions that are vying for one of the retiring orbiters and its new 15,500-sq.-ft. space gallery – potentially the home of an orbiter – will be completed in July 2011.

The April 12 date is significant in that it marks the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch and the 50th anniversary of the first human in space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

“We believe that our mission to be the foremost educational air and space museum in the country, along with Washington state’s extensive contributions to aerospace innovation, make us uniquely qualified to be the final home for one of the shuttles,” said Museum of Flight President and CEO Douglas King. “We are eager to hear NASA’s decision.”

Laying groundwork for Space Gallery of the Museum of Flight

The Seattle Times wrote a story about The Museum of Flight's new Space Gallery project. If museum supporters are successful, this $12 million gallery project will eventually house one of America's four retiring space shuttles.


To read the full story, click here.

KXLY 4 News in Spokane

Dr. Bonnie Dunbar spoke with Kris Crocker of KXLY 4 News in Spokane about the possibility of Seattle being awarded a retiring NASA space shuttle. The Museum of Flight has been gathering support from across the state to help bring the shuttle to Seattle, which would be a great educational tool, as well as a boost to the economy state-wide.