The space program may be winding down, but the battle to house a space shuttle is heating up.
There are only three space-traveled shuttles remaining, and one (Discovery) has already been promised to the Smithsonian. That leaves two shuttles up for grabs, and there are plenty of institutions eagerly waiting to hear from NASA.
A space shuttle exhibit would draw visitors and add prestige to any institution lucky enough to receive one. Houston’s Johnson Space Center is one of the strongest contenders for a shuttle, but the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is all but guaranteed one and the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, has a solid chance, too.
However, when you think about the history of the space program from beginning to end, you think of two places most of all: Florida and Houston. Florida launches the shuttle, an important task to be sure, but Houston has mission control, the brains behind the entire space program.
The shuttle was designed here. Apollo 13 was solved here. There’s over 50 years of space history entwined in Houston — the Astros and their dome, the ‘Space City’ nickname — not to mention the thousands of rocket scientists and space experts that work in the NASA area every day who call Houston home.
Simply put, there is no other candidates more qualified to host a space shuttle than the Kennedy and Johnson centers.
For the past 50 years, these two centers have put in the sweat, tears and hard work necessary to send men to the moon or put together the International Space Station. They cheered with the world when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the Moon, and wept together when the Challenger exploded. If anyone deserves a retired shuttle, it’s these two candidates; everyone else simply isn’t qualified enough.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a Clear Lake resident, is expected to announce the decision April 12. We hope that he seriously weighs the historical significance of Houston before making any rash decisions.
