Group Aims For Space Shuttle Display After 2010 Retirement
The Antelope Valley, home of Edwards Air Force Base and the
Lockheed "Skunk Works", is considered by many to be the birthplace
of modern US experimental jet aviation and space travel. Since the
end of World War II, the area has seen many X-planes of various
shapes and sizes take flight over its desert landscape and local
officials are aiming to consolidate that history and attract one of
its most famous products, a space shuttle orbiter, back to its
birthplace after retirement.
Officials from the Antelope Valley are starting the process to
develop a museum that will consolidate aviation and aerospace
artifacts from around the area into a museum dedicated to
highlighting the role the region played in the development of jet
and space technology since the start of the Cold War. Officials
hope such an effort will attract the attention of the Smithsonian
Institution.
The Smithsonian in Washington, DC will makes the final decision
on the placement of the space shuttle orbiters in museums after
their slated retirement in 2010.
The isolation of the Mojave Desert and weather allowing for year
round flying brought the US military to the high desert following
World War II. Edwards AFB, formerly known as Muroc Field, was where
the Bell X-1 broke the sound barrier in 1947 -- an event many
consider to be the first step in the development of the US manned
space program.
The birthplace of the Space Shuttle, Palmdale's Plant 42 was
where all six orbiters were built. Edwards AFB, the original
landing site for the shuttle, is used today as an alternative
landing site when weather prohibits landing at Kennedy Space Center
in Florida.
"We have all the elements in place
to make it an easy decision," Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said.
However, such a project requires more than just a past history
to make the decision, and local officials are lining up help to
accomplish the goal.
The San Fernando Valley Business Journal reported this week
Congressman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon will work with the state's
congressional delegation to sign a letter of support to bring an
orbiter back to the Valley. In Sacramento, the governor and state
legislators are being enlisted to do the same.
The Palmdale City Council got the ball rolling in April by
approving an application to obtain shuttle artifacts remaining at
Plant 42.
Those, in addition to aircraft currently on display at the
city-owned Joe Davies Heritage Airpark, are intended to be the
foundation of the museum that aims to house about 40 aircraft over
26 acres. In order to house an orbiter, a specially built,
climate-controlled museum would need to be built on the
property.
Already considered a mecca for aviation enthusiasts who come
from around the world to visit the famous test facilities, the
location just outside the Los Angeles area gives a future museum
access to potentially millions of visitors.
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