Sorry, Air Force. No Shuttle for YOU!

From the (other) usual source...

No Space Shuttle for Air Force Museum: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Tuesday announced the museums where the four space shuttles will go on permanent display once the shuttle fleet retires later this year. The National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, was not one of them. Instead, the Shuttle Atlantis will go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex in Florida; Shuttle Discovery will reside at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia; Shuttle Endeavour will rest at the California Science Center in Los Angeles; and Shuttle Enterprise will relocate from the Udvar-Hazy Center to the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York. NASA said the Air Force museum will receive some shuttle artifacts: the nose cap assembly and crew compartment trainer as well as orbital maneuvering system engines. Bolden's announcement coincided with the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle launch and 50th anniversary of manned space flight. (See also Air Force Museum release)

Well, that sucks.  Just for grins and giggles, here's a couple o' items from the Air Force Museum's web site on the subject:

01) Why does the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force want a shuttle orbiter?

Throughout the shuttle's flying career, the USAF has been an important NASA partner. In addition to contributing massive infrastructure and multifaceted operational support, the Air Force has provided NASA with many highly skilled shuttle astronauts. NASA and the Department of Defense began cooperating on space shuttle design in early 1969, and the USAF-NASA formal space shuttle relationship began on Feb. 17, 1970. Air Force satellite launch requirements largely determined shuttle design, and the Air Force saved the shuttle program in lean budget years during its development.

Recognizing this vital and historically significant partnership, the Secretary of the Air Force, in accordance with 40 U.S.C. §524(b)(2), has requested the interagency transfer of a shuttle orbiter to the Air Force's national historical collection. This acquisition is required in order to represent the USAF/NASA partnership and the contributions of the shuttle orbiter program to national defense.

Therefore, the National Museum of the United States Air Force and its governing body, the USAF Heritage Board of Directors, has identified the Air Force's space mission as its most important exhibit priority.

04) Which shuttle orbiter is the museum requesting?

The museum is open to receiving any available orbiter; however we are most interested in Atlantis due to it being the primary Air Force/Department of Defense shuttle. Atlantis is the orbiter that has flown five Department of Defense (DoD) dedicated missions, more than any other shuttle, and has also supported other DoD activities. The basic space shuttle design was heavily influenced by Air Force and DoD requirements, and Atlantis has included more than 30 Air Force astronauts among its crews. The Air Force and DoD also play critical roles in shuttle launch and recovery operations in a continuous, decades-long partnership with NASA.

Well, Atlantis will stay at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  I suppose the Air Force museum shouldn't be all that disappointed... Houston didn't get one, either.

NASA administrator Charles Bolden announced today the four museums -- the Smithsonian Institution (Discovery), the California Science Center (Endeavour), Kennedy Space Center (Atlantis) and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (Enterprise) -- that will receive space shuttles for public display after the fleet retires this summer. 

As expected Houston, the home of human spaceflight, was snubbed. 

It's a shame. Houston's campaign, Bring the Shuttle Home, probably deserves some blame for being late to the game in terms of politicking for an orbiter. 

But I'm not sure any campaign could have saved Houston. The politics of this decision were pretty clear. President Obama appoints the NASA administrator, and Texas is a decidedly Republican state.

Me?  I blame George Bush.