Texans urge NASA to take retired shuttle away from New York

[n2doc]

Houston to New York: Displaying a retired space shuttle near a strip joint is no way to treat a precious space artifact.

New York, which was awarded one of four shuttles by NASA in a national competition, is looking at revising its plans for displaying the Enterprise orbiter. And Texas lawmakers, still angry that Houston lost out to the Big Apple, are pushing NASA to reconsider.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) accused New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum of a "bait-and-switch'' in proposing to locate the shuttle "next to a bagel joint, a car wash and a strip club."

"The only place this shuttle should be heading to is Houston’s 'Space City, U.S.A.,' the historical place for all space exploration," he said on the House floor this week. Houston is home to Johnson Space Center, the control center for manned missions and astronaut training facilities.

Texans are seizing on a recent New York Times article that reported that the New York museum no longer plans to display the Enterprise on a berth on the Hudson River next to the Intrepid aircraft carrier. Instead the shuttle will be displayed in a parking lot on 12th Avenue. The lot is surrounded by a bagel shop, a car wash, warehouses and a strip club.

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/10/houston-works-to-take-away-space-shuttle-from-new-york-.html