Museum of Flight Welcomes Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment

The most recognizable piece of the Shuttle Trainer arrived at Seattle's Museum of Flight Saturday, June 30, amid crowds of cheering spectators. The Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment, which is 28.75 feet long, 19 feet wide and 23.5 feet high, was transported in NASA's Super Guppy aircraft. The Shuttle Trainer is being delivered in several stages over the next few months and will be on display in its entirety at The Museum of Flight's Charles Simonyi Space Gallery.

The Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment being loaded into the Super Guppy aircraft at Houston's Johnson Space Center, ready to make its final resting place at Seattle's Museum of Flight  

Built in the 1970s, the Shuttle Trainer is the only one of its kind in the world and is the simulator in which each of the 335 space shuttle astronauts trained.

The arrival of the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment kicked off ShuttleFest 2012, a week-long celebration to commemorate the historic artifact's arrival to its final home.

To read more about the Shuttle Trainer or ShuttleFest 2012, click here to read the article from MSNBC.com.

For photos of the event welcoming the Space Shuttle Trainer Crew Compartment from the Seattle PI, click 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.