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Space Shuttle Collides With Bridge In New York
First time accepted submitter AbrasiveCat writes "While transporting the space shuttle Enterprise to its new home at the Intrepid Museum, a gust of wind caught the shuttle and pushed a wing tip into the South Channel Subway Bridge. With any luck it was just the protective covering that was damaged. Ah, New York traffic."
We were hoping that Britain would provide something of a buffer; but it looks like metric wind is making its way from the EU after all...
This news story would have sounded very different 15 years ago.
I wish they weren't so common.
The summary should reflect that the Space Shuttle was being transported on top of a barge at the time of collision. Very low speed impact, very little damage. Headline is misleadingly catastrophic.
it would have been taken care of better.
Stop it! Now!
I'm scared of this article because the sensational title was analogous to something has big has 9/11
Ready for throttle-up.
the level of anxiety I felt when reading the headline. I had to take a moment to remember they aren't in use.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Why am I both relieved and disappointed this wasn't an awesome space crash?
I bet it went down something like...
http://images.wikia.com/memoryalpha/en/images/c/cb/USS_Enterprise-D_saucer_crash.jpg
I wish there was a way to post a diagram of what I was imagining this article to be about, based on the headline alone.
Hint: It would have been the Brooklyn Bridge, and there would have been volcanoes and dinosaurs involved.
is like a big, complicated task...involving angles, maths and other science type things. I wonder if there's a joke in this somewhere that I'm somehow missing?
THIS is why you CAN'T have nice things!
Good thing we didn't trust them with a real shuttle.
It's been more than 10 years since 9/11, can we go back to hating New Yorkers like we used to now?
Should of sent it to Texas, we were more careful with our shuttle replica than they were with the real things it seems. Someones head is going to roll over this I bet.
Well, I can say there was nothing recognizable damaged to an untrained eye with a 300mm camera lens... I was on the bank of the bay, near the Verrazana-Narrows Bridge taking pictures... Maybe that's why they were late getting there, they might've stopped to inspect it after the collision.
There are many ambiguities in the summary.
1. The bridge was over water, not a roadway.
2. This was neither caused by "New York traffic" nor did it disrupt (land) traffic.
3. The protective covering that was damaged was on the Enterprise, not the bridge.
4. You can view photos of the damage yourself.
I'm so glad New York City got a Space Shuttle instead of the National Museum of the United State Air Force. That way, citizens can pay to see it (NMUSAF is totally free--including parking), in a setting that makes sense (there were carrier-based space shuttles, right?) and it's clustered next to another shuttle (less than eight hours NYC to DC, vs. putting it towards the center of the country). Further, this shows that the Intrepid museum is already providing the lack of care they have provided other artifacts.
Mission control should never have given the go-ahead in that kind of wind...
Oh, nevermind.
These things have been known to break up on re-entry.
Wow,this is going to kill the value of it even more! It doesn't have the original box and instructions, now it's nicked up. NFW will they get the high dollar at ComicCon.
I guess it'll just have to be suspended on a string from the Statue of Liberty's arm.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
Uh-oh! Now the shuttle is broken. If we ever needed to retrofit the shuttle with mining gear to save the world from an impending astroid collision, we're screwed!
these are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise?
...women drivers...
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
Someone figured on maintaining the safety record of NASA....
Seriously, this thing is getting more press coverage then when it was in use. Also, does this mean the Earth's core is going to stop spinning?
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
I'm confused, do I go to the Cargo Letter or Airdisaster.com for news on this ?
Guess I should check Wrecked Exotics while I'm at it.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
captain kirk was wasted on landing
Have gnu, will travel.
With any luck it was just the protective covering that was damaged.
The shuttle or the bridge?
[Scotty]: What, she didna' have her shields up?
A better headline would have been "Enterprise crashes into bridge"
I mean everybody knows the shuttles are retired, but CVN65 hasn't retired just yet (I think its on the last tour of duty) and I am sure an aircraft carrier would do a lot more damage, not to mention the potential of leaks from its 8 reactors.
...if this headline was from two years ago.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
I can tell you one thing: I'm not going to be flying into space in that thing any time soon, not even if they paid me. They should ground the shuttle until the damage is completely repaired.
It's not like this is rocket science.
(anymore)
I saw Enterprise when it was still at Udvar-Hazy. I have also seen Discovery at its new home in Udvar-Hazy. I'm no rocket scientist, but Discovery was much more impressive. It... felt... like a spacecraft. Okay, now waiting for more knowledgeable people to tell me about the real differences in external appearance between Discovery and Enterprise, or alternatively, use me as an example of how external knowledge (Discovery was a real shuttle, Enterprise just a testbed) can affect perception.
KHAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNN!!
Headline Misleading - Ploy to get readers? Or just poor editorial skills?
You know, Kirk blew up Enterprise, but at least they didn't *hit* the damn bridge when they tried to land the Bird of Prey!
If it would have went to the National Museum of the US Air Force, this kind of crap would have never happened.
And yes, they ARE able to take care of historic spacecraft, and have proven ability in doing so.
Asshat congressmen.
That has got to be the most disappointing and under-delivering title vs summary in Slashdot history! If a spaceship collides with a bridge in New York, it better be going 200MPH or title it "shuttle scrapes bridge"
Traffic doesnt move fast enough in NYC to creat wind so why blame the traffic?lol
Jack of all trades,master of none
Three on the East Coast, one on the West?
Oh, look, Washington DC (national capitol,) California, New York, and Florida. AKA: Three of the four most politically-powerful states minus Texas.
Obviously nobody is going to object to the Smithsonian getting one to replace Enterprise. No objection at all.
But the others? The Smithsonian covers the East Coast pretty well.
Of all the West Coast museums, both Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon and Seattle's Museum of Flight seemed to be better fits for the shuttle than the California Science Center, but I am willing to give them the nod because they are a free-admission museum.
At least one should have been in the middle of the country. Texas and Colorado both have good museums available.
Kennedy Space Center? Really? I know it was an important space center, and the space shuttle is an important space artifact, but there isn't even much of a museum there! Give 'em a replica!
Intrepid Museum? Of all the dopey half-baked locations... This is a naval museum that has tried to expand itself, and its shuttle display proposal is just dopey. Now we know they can't even get the shuttle there without breaking it.
Enterprise, to me, is the 'odd man out'. One real shuttle on each coast, one in the middle of the country. Then find the largest aviation/space going population furthest from one of the locations and send Enterprise there. (Obviously I'd argue for the Pacific Northwest, but if Florida legitimately "wins" that one, then Florida it is - but at a real museum please, not just a set dressing for the space center.)
That will buff out!
__
Sigs are like arse-holes, everybody has one
After looking at the pictures, it's not like the Brooklyn bridge just jumped out in front of the barge carrying the shuttle. It was transiting a fairly narrow bridge. The wingspan on the shuttle is 78 feet, and a google map distance measurement of where the shuttle clipped the bridge says the space they had to work with was about 100 feet, give or take. That means if you absolutely threaded the needle, you should have had 11 feet (That's about 3.3 meters for you folks unfamiliar with a proper unit of measurement =) ) to work with on either side of the bird. That seems like a lot, but on a windy day.....very touchy.
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=J+F+K+Airport,+New+York,+NY&aq=0&oq=JFK+&sll=40.639749,-73.824348&sspn=0.097239,0.057421&vpsrc=0&t=h&ie=UTF8&hq=J+F+K+Airport,+New+York,+NY&z=13&cid=17028024512003641840&iwloc=A
(if the link is jacked up, just go to JFK and work your way south east)
It looks like, from the pictures upthread, the shuttle hit the railroad bridge that sits between Cross Bay Blvd and JFK airport. I've ground handled large aircraft on the tarmac, and 11 feet is too close for comfort in my book. I don't envy the guys who had to try and make that work.
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
I know the damage is minor, but it's just sad to see a symbol of our great space achievements be subject to so much indignity. Involved in a fender bender while riding on a garbage scow headed for New Jersey. Oh, Enterprise! I weep for thee.
I just hope NYC can keep the graffitti on their shuttle to a minimum.
Like the last time an aeroplane hit a NYC landmark?
[Scotty]: What, she didna' have her shields up?
[Cartwright] They're heading for the bridge!
"On the 4th of June 2012, on this spot, the Space Shuttle Enterprise crashed into this bridge."
Details are not that important. Awesome plaqueage is.
good thing we retired those behemoths.
These clowns should never have been allowed to touch the Shuttle. That "cosmetic foam" was one of the most important structures/mechanisms on the shuttle: its heat shield that protected it from reentry. That reentry is what makes it a shuttle and not just a launcher. The heat shield foam was one of the most famous innovations brought by the shuttle programme. They didn't know that? Why didn't they cover the wingtips with something stronger than foam? They knew it was narrow clearance, in a usually windy passage.
But then, they evidently don't have artificial lighting to inspect their cargo after dark, either. Or schedules, so they'd know they'd need lights to inspect the shuttle for damage once they arrived, even if they hadn't obviously smashed it.
This was a brand-new Space Shuttle. They just broke it. Weeks Marine should have to buy NYC a new one.
--
make install -not war
Is it just me, or is it blindingly obvious that if the barge was at least as wide as the shuttle, it'd be the barge scraped up and not the shuttle. Barges are generally more replaceable than shuttles, even if they are only flight test and landing mocks.
-- Terry
They had sent it to Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton to be housed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
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