SPACE

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake) 04/24/2016 at 17:46 • Filed to: None

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BUNCH OF PICTURES INSIDE

Yo dawg, I heard you like planes so I put a space plane on your airplane and so on...

In case y’all were unaware, I actually grew up in Houston, TX. My parents still live there. I took a few days off for a much needed vacation to make my mother happy by flying home for the Passover Seder.

My Dad and I drove down to Johnson Space Center and checked out the new Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) exhibit. It was actually really cool! Enjoy these pictures I took with my iPhone

The best panorama I could muster. It sits right up against the parking lot and is fenced in, so it’s hard to get a picture of the whole thing

An old mockup from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex called the Space Shuttle Independence was placed on top of the SCA. An elevator takes you up to the two leveled shuttle exhibit.

The shuttle exhibit is OK. Still really pissed Houston didn’t get an orbiter. Showing the payload bay is interesting, I’ll give it that

SPACE TOILET

After the two levels of the Space Shuttle, you enter the front of the SCA and there’s a whole bunch of exhibits packed into its interior. This was actually my first time ever on board a 747, and it’s cavernous! I must say, I came away very pleasantly surprised at the exhibits in the aircraft. Very well done. This picture is at the very front of the aircraft where this embossed panel shows the SCA with orbiter attached

A little piece of history: as a proof of concept a small group of NASA engineers put together this pair of remote controlled models.

Early SCA ideas used a C-5 galaxy. Ultimately the 747 was the better choice, but that twin fuselage C5 would have been WILD!

This pictogram shows what all was modified to allow a 747 to carry a 120,000 pound space plane.

The exhibit takes you through the entire cabin of the 747. It’s really neat and very well done. Exiting the back affords a good view of the back of the shuttle and the strut holding it in place. I’m a bit disappointed the shuttle doesn’t have the fairing on the tail end, it would make a more ‘realistic’ display.

Closeup of the inboard left-hand engine fan. Very little of the SCA is fenced off, which was great. You can walk underneath it, get a good look inside landing gear bays, they’ve got a few of the baggage area doors open as well. Even if you aren’t particularly interested in the space program, this exhibit gives you a rare look at the mighty 747.

This is the Orbiter Access Arm from the old launch support structure in Florida. One can only imagine what went through the minds of astronauts as they walked this arm to board the space shuttle.

Bonus moon car. This is the original Lunar Rover trainer, so not just a replica or recreation. If you’ve never been to Space Center Houston, this is part of an exhibit that includes a room with some pretty sizable moon rocks on display

“Will this fit in my Honda?” Space Shuttle Main Engine. Apologies for the terrible picture, it’s excessively dark inside Space Center Houston.

f86sabre > Jayhawk Jake 04/24/2016 at 21:28

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Cool stuff. The 747 is an amazing bird. We will be moving the prototype 747-400 t the Delta Museum in a couple of weeks. The interior will be open to the public.

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > Jayhawk Jake 04/25/2016 at 03:35

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You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Jayhawk Jake 04/25/2016 at 08:29

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Cool pictures. A couple years ago I was in Houston but wasn’t able to make it to the museum though I did check out the rocket park and the Saturn V. I also stopped in the parking lot and checked out the orbiter when it was parked on the grass. Unfortunately it was fenced off and you couldn’t get close to it at that time. It would have been super cool if they had managed to use the Orbiter Access Arm to get people from the building into the shuttle. I would assume there were issues with emergency access or handicap access though.

For Sweden > Jayhawk Jake 04/25/2016 at 17:38

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Still really pissed Houston didn’t get an orbiter.

Well maybe if Texas’ electoral votes had gone to Mr. Obama he wouldn’t have had to punish Texas.

For Sweden > f86sabre 04/25/2016 at 17:39

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Isn’t having the interior open to the public the business model of an airline?

ttyymmnn > For Sweden 04/25/2016 at 17:55

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They didn’t......

EL_ULY > Jayhawk Jake 04/25/2016 at 18:01

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COOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!Still haven’t gone to see it