Former Astronauts Urge NASA to Display Shuttle in USAF Museum

DAYTON—A group of 18 former astronauts asked NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr., to select the National Museum of the United States Air Force outside Dayton, Ohio, for a retired space shuttle when that program ends later this year. About 20 museums across the country have requested to exhibit one of the four remaining shuttles.

    “We join the United States Air Force, the state of Ohio, and the entire region surrounding Dayton in support of the placement of a shuttle for permanent exhibition at the oldest and largest aerospace museum in the world,” the astronauts told Bolden in a letter.

    The astronauts, most of whom are former Air Force officers, emphasized that sending a shuttle to the National Museum of the United States Air Force was particularly appropriate because of the support the Air Force has given to the space shuttle program.

    “Without the Air Force, the shuttle program as we know it today would not exist,” they wrote.
    The astronauts who signed the letter included 15 who had flown on the space shuttle and three who flew Apollo missions.

    Among the astronauts was Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, U.S.A.F (Ret.), who flew two Gemini missions and commanded Apollo 10 in May 1969, which included the first flight of the lunar module to the moon.

    One of the signers, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, was the first American woman to walk in space.    Another signer, Brig. Gen. Charles Moss Duke, Jr., U.S.A.F. (Ret.) walked on the moon as part of the Apollo 16 mission.

    Another Ohio astronaut, former Senator John Glenn, Jr., sent a separate letter to NASA supporting the shuttle coming to the Air Force museum.

    The National Museum of the United States Air Force houses the Air Force’s National Historical Collection, and already includes Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsules and a wide variety of space vehicles and artifacts. 

    Because the museum is owned by the federal government a space shuttle displayed there “would keep ownership with the American people,” the astronauts said.

    The museum is “unique in its ability to preserve the vehicle, and fully capable to tell the story of its role in space and of the men and women who flew and supporter her,” they said.

    The astronauts urged NASA select the Atlantis for display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force because it was used for defense-related missions more than any of the other shuttles. 

    “The Air Force was instrumental in the design, development, funding, and approval of the space shuttle program,” the astronauts said. “The Air Force continued as a key partner in the shuttle program from training through mission planning, launch integration, and operations.”

    The National Museum of the United States Air Force is one of the most popular aviation museums in the world, with 1.3 million visitors annually. It features more than 400 aerospace vehicles displayed in a million square feet of exhibit space.

    For a copy of the letter, click here.