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.

FMI: www.cityofpalmdale.org/airpark