Independence (space shuttle)

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The Independence (then Explorer ) at the Kennedy Space Center

The Independence (originally Explorer ) is an exact replica of a space shuttle of NASA . She's in the Johnson Space Center in Houston ( Texas issued).

description

The model is 37.4 meters long, 16 meters high and the wings have a span of 24 meters, which means it has almost the exact dimensions of a real space shuttle. Several individual parts, including the Michelin tires on the chassis, are spare parts for the space shuttles and some were in space with them . The heat protection tiles and the reinforced carbon wing elements are not real, and the layer of foam under the surface that protected the real shuttles from heat is completely missing. Inside there is a non-original cockpit with a doll wearing an early model of the orange spacesuits and the cargo bay, the dimensions of which match the real ones. This includes the reconstruction of a satellite of Hughes Communications , similar to that as in STS-49 was included.

A dummy of the Hughes satellite in the cargo bay

history

The Independence, then known as the Explorer , was built by Guard-Lee in Apopka , Florida . Guard-Lee used several drawings, blueprints and archive documents provided by NASA in order to recreate the model as true to the original as possible. The Explorer was exhibited at the Kennedy Space Center in 1993 , where it was possible to view the inside of the cockpit and the cargo bay. Mounted outside were mockups of two solid rocket rockets and the orange outer tank originally used by the Stennis Space Center .

When the Atlantis was to be exhibited on the grounds of the KSC after the end of the space shuttle era , it was decided to leave the Explorer to the Johnson Space Center. It was then transported on December 11, 2011 by a 144-wheel trailer to a dock near the Vehicle Assembly Building, from there loaded onto a barge and shipped to Houston in spring 2012. The original plan to dismantle the wings for transport was not implemented.

Name change

As part of the celebration of the arrival of the new exhibit, the museum held a competition to come up with a new name for the Explorer. This lasted from July 4th to September 2nd, 2013. Independence was selected from over 10,000 proposals received and announced to the public on October 5th, 2013.

Web links

Commons : Space Shuttle Independence  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Space Shuttle Replica Sets Sail for Houston . space.com, May 24, 2012.
  2. ↑ Space shuttle replica sets sail for Houston . Collectspace, May 24, 2012.
  3. ↑ Audit Report: Transfer of external tank display to Kennedy Space Center visitor complex ( Memento from April 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). NASA Office of Inspector General, September 14, 2000.
  4. ↑ Photo Gallery: NASA's Fla. visitor center clearing way for Atlantis arrival . Collectspace, November 29, 2011.
  5. ↑ Houston's space shuttle replica to get new name in public event . Collectspace, September 20, 2013.
  6. ↑ Houston's space shuttle replica christened 'Independence' . Collectspace, October 5, 2013.