[English Ivy]

Did anyone see the shuttle flying piggyback on the 747 as it made it's way west this morning? I saw it in Bonita. Very cool sight.

[skip0358]

Originally Posted by English Ivy

Did anyone see the shuttle flying piggyback on the 747 as it made it's way west this morning? I saw it in Bonita. Very cool sight.

Saw it coming back from my bike ride. Was very clear and quite the sight. Glad I got to see it.

[Russ_Boston]

Seemed to be directly over my house in Buttonwood.

Nice to see history in person!

[KathieI]

Does anyone have any pictures??? I slept right through it!!

[Serenoa]

Unfortunately, preparations for its arrival & journey to its final destination in LA have been under way there.......which includes the cutting down of approximately 400 trees so the shuttle's 78 foot wingspan will clear as it moves thru the city's neighborhoods. Officials claimed there was no other alternative, that the wings could not be temporarily removed because that would damage the heat sensitive tiles. Well hells bells, the thing will never have to fly again. Who needs tiles?.......but hey, what's a few hundred neighborhood shade trees? In 40 or 50 years after new replacement trees have been planted no one will ever be able to tell the difference.

Disgusting!!

Space shuttle Endeavour's arrival in LA prompts city to cut down 400 trees | Science | guardian.co.uk

[goodgrief]

Nooooo I missed it!!! I was sitting here in Sanibel and looked out the patio and saw a jet trail!!!!! That was it ...already gone....::thud:: Oh well at least got to see one shuttle go up in my lifetime

[paulandjean]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

Unfortunately, preparations for its arrival & journey to its final destination in LA have been under way there.......which includes the cutting down of approximately 400 trees so the shuttle's 78 foot wingspan will clear as it moves thru the city's neighborhoods. Officials claimed there was no other alternative, that the wings could not be temporarily removed because that would damage the heat sensitive tiles. Well hells bells, the thing will never have to fly again. Who needs tiles?.......but hey, what's a few hundred neighborhood shade trees? In 40 or 50 years after new replacement trees have been planted no one will ever be able to tell the difference.

Disgusting!!

Space shuttle Endeavour's arrival in LA prompts city to cut down 400 trees | Science | guardian.co.uk

Its not like they will ever run out of trees!

[Serenoa]

Originally Posted by paulandjean

Its not like they will ever run out of trees!

So...you're saying that if you had an old 40 or 50 year old tree in front of your house that provided lots of shade & aesthetic beauty to your property and one day the city informed you that they were going to cut it down so they could parade a large object past your house.....you would have absolutely no problem with that? All in the name of progress, right?

I tend to believe the overwhelming majority of affected homeowners would NOT be receptive to the idea. If I was ever to become a militant tree-hugger type, this would be the time!

[spk7951]

Heard the engines and knew that was a low flying jet so we went out front and saw the shuttle for a few seconds. Beautiful sight to see, just wish I had time to grab my camera.

[memason]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

Unfortunately, preparations for its arrival & journey to its final destination in LA have been under way there.......which includes the cutting down of approximately 400 trees so the shuttle's 78 foot wingspan will clear as it moves thru the city's neighborhoods. Officials claimed there was no other alternative, that the wings could not be temporarily removed because that would damage the heat sensitive tiles. Well hells bells, the thing will never have to fly again. Who needs tiles?.......but hey, what's a few hundred neighborhood shade trees? In 40 or 50 years after new replacement trees have been planted no one will ever be able to tell the difference.

Disgusting!!

Space shuttle Endeavour's arrival in LA prompts city to cut down 400 trees | Science | guardian.co.uk

Good thing you live in Alabama ...

[Patty55]

I don't understand why they had to give away the shuttles.

[Serenoa]

Originally Posted by Patty55

I don't understand why they had to give away the shuttles.

and why did LA get the real thing, while Johnson Space Center in Houston only gets a shuttle "model"??

seems to me it would have been a no-brainer to save hundreds of old trees in LA by assembling a shuttle model there, and giving the real thing to Houston.

but I guess that would have made too much sense to all the LA bureaucrats involved, who I would bet don't live anywhere near the affected neighborhoods.

[Count'n the days]

I'm in Houston and I saw it flying over the plant where I work. My husband saw it flying over our house and as I was driving home, I saw it at Ellington Field. Traffic was backed up with folks going to see it. We live near Johnson Space Center and it's very important to the community here. Everyone was very disappointed that Houston wasn't selected as a home to one of the retired shuttles.

[Count'n the days]

Here are my pictures of the Endeavor before it landed in Houston.

[looneycat]

Originally Posted by Serenoa

So...you're saying that if you had an old 40 or 50 year old tree in front of your house that provided lots of shade & aesthetic beauty to your property and one day the city informed you that they were going to cut it down so they could parade a large object past your house.....you would have absolutely no problem with that? All in the name of progress, right?

I tend to believe the overwhelming majority of affected homeowners would NOT be receptive to the idea. If I was ever to become a militant tree-hugger type, this would be the time!

I'd be upset but that wouldn't outweigh my pride that a significant part of mankind's history will be housed in my city. Trees grow and die, history endures forever.