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By David Weaver, Associate Administrator for Communications at NASA Thank you to everyone who signed the petition asking the Administration to revisit the decision to place the retired space shuttle Enterprise in New York and to place it at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio instead. The Museum is a cherished destination celebrating the history of the U.S. Air Force, including its invaluable collaboration with NASA and its crucial role in the Space Shuttle Program. That's why the Museum will receive a space shuttle nose cap assembly and a crew compartment trainer, both important pieces of NASA's history. NASA established and followed a process for deciding where to distribute the four shuttles in the orbiter fleet after the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program. The process included an assessment of criteria such as facility availability, transportation effort and risk, ability to meet delivery schedule, annual attendance, and regional population. The four locations chosen by NASA as a result of this process were announced April 12, 2011. Shortly thereafter, NASA's independent Office of Inspector General (IG) conducted a thorough review of the process. On August 25, 2011, that office issued a special report (pdf) that found NASA's process "was consistent with applicable Federal law" and free of improper influence. Although the IG report also found that there were some discrepancies in NASA's scoring of the applications, the report concluded that they did not affect NASA's final decision. NASA's plans to deliver Atlantis, Discovery, Endeavour, and Enterprise to their final locations remain on track. NASA transferred title of Endeavour to the California Science Center in October 2011 and the title and ownership of Enterprise to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York last month. We wish there were more shuttles to go around but are excited that Americans will have a chance to see the orbiters up close in New York, California, Florida, and Washington, DC and learn more about their significant contribution to our Nation's space exploration history. Check out this response on We the People. Stay Connected Stay connected to the White House by signing up for periodic email updates from President Obama and other senior administration officials.
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Dayton Publisher Reacts to White House "We the People" Response to Shuttle Scandal:
ReplyDelete"Shame on NASA, NYC and the President"!
Dayton, OH - As the brewing controversy regarding NASA's flawed Space Shuttle retirement program continues, Dayton City Paper publisher Paul Noah issued a stirring call to action on behalf of thousands of taxpayers who petitioned President Obama to overturn his administration's inept decision to award the Enterprise orbiter to the unprepared Intrepid Museum in New York City.
Mr. Noah's editorial is a bold follow up to his paper's December 27, 2011 expose, http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/nasa-to-dayton-over-and-out/ , on this growing scandal which has been a particular insult locally to the home of the Wright Brothers and regionally to the Midwest.
Fortunately, Members of Congress representing the people of Houston, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and Dayton, Ohio are pressing NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to release more details on the Intrepid's faulty application which Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown described as "a bait and switch".
The full text of Mr. Noah's remarks are below.
Shame on NASA, NYC and the President.
New York deceived NASA and the nation. They never had the facilities or the money that they claimed they had to display the Enterprise shuttle at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan. Now they’re admitting it. New York State Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera admitted last week to the New York Post (newspaper) they were never ready in the first place. “Contributing to the problem are the limited display space at the Intrepid, land-use disagreements with a state agency and the expense of constructing a proper home for [an] icon of American ingenuity.” So what is NYC’s plan now? Ms. Rivera has introduced legislation to raise money for her
proposed “Explore the Cosmos New York Fund” to combat the above problems.
This is outrageous! If New York wasn’t ready (as claimed), then they should never have been awarded the shuttle in the first place. Shame on NASA. Shame on NYC. And shame on President Obama for continuing to not react to Ohio's “We the people” petition —legitimately submitted to him through the White House's own process— to bring the Enterprise to the National Museum of the United States Air Force here at the “Birthplace
of Aviation”. That request is still sitting on his desk. As evidenced by last week’s Presidential news conference on the contraception issue, the White House can and will reverse decisions if there is enough heat.
However, it’s nearly too late to do anything further. Why? Because the fleet of 747
aircrafts necessary to transport the shuttle is also slated for immediate retirement. Once
those airplanes are grounded the Enterprise will permanently rest in NYC. What can you do? Contact the White House, your congressman and/or Senator and, if necessary, express your dissent in November! Turn up the heat Ohio!
Paul Noah
Publisher, Dayton City Paper
publisher@daytoncitypaper.com
126 North Main Street
Suite 240
Dayton, OH 45402
O: 937.222.8855 ext. 202
F: 937.222.6113
C: 937.475.3000
DDN reports that NASA takes a long time to do shuttle FOIA paperwork.
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