Preconsidered Res. No. 708
Resolution calling upon National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator, Charles F. Bolden, to retire at least one space shuttle to New York City for permanent residence at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
By Council Member Ignizio, The Speaker (Council Member Quinn), Council Members Oddo, Recchia, Ulrich, Koo, Halloran, Seabrook, Lappin, Garodnick, Reyna, Rivera, Weprin, Comrie, Koppell, Jackson, Vacca, Rose, Van Bramer, Dromm, Dickens, Crowley, Gennaro, Fidler, James, Koslowitz, Lander, Nelson, Palma, Sanders Jr., Vann and Williams.
Whereas, On October 11, 2010 with the signing of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Authorization Act of 2010, President Obama ceased funding for the NASA human spaceflight program known as the Constellation Program; and
Whereas, With the reorganization under the newly enacted law, NASA has decommissioned the three space shuttles that make up the fleet and has been accepting applications from interested museums around the country to purchase one of three shuttles at $28.8 million each; and
Whereas, One of the three shuttles is the Discovery, which after its retirement will have completed 39 missions and traveled roughly 143 million miles since its first mission in 1984; and
Whereas, Another of the three shuttles is the Atlantis, which after its retirement will have completed 32 missions and traveled roughly 120 million miles since its first mission in 1985; and
Whereas, The third shuttle is the Endeavor, which after its retirement will have completed 25 missions and traveled roughly 103 million miles since its first mission in 1992; and
Whereas, The application for purchase had to include a statement of interest detailing how the museum plans to meet the requirement of exhibiting an orbiter in an environmentally-controlled enclosed display; and
Whereas, In 2010, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (Intrepid), located in New York City, submitted an official proposal for at least one of the retiring shuttles by outlining an estimated $40 million glass enclosed visitor center at Pier 86 that would provide extensive educational material and would allow guests to walk through the space shuttle; and
Whereas, Since the Intrepid submitted its bid, congressional, State and City officials have rallied behind the museum citing New York City's unique opportunity to showcase the shuttle's amazing history to the country and the world due to the City's $31 billion tourism industry, which brought 39 million domestic and 9.7 million international visitors in 2010; and
Whereas, The Intrepid recently raised $115 million between 2006-2008 in capital fundraising for major refurbishments and has the necessary experience and proven success needed for proper maintenance of any of the three historic space shuttles; and
Whereas, The Intrepid promotes an awareness and understanding of history, science and service to its 915,000 visitors per year; and
Whereas, The addition of a space shuttle will present a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of flight and aeronautical engineering; and
Whereas, The Intrepid served as a primary spacecraft recovery vessel for NASA in the 1960s during early space exploration programs; and
Whereas, The Intrepid has collected more than 150,000 names on a petition urging that one of the shuttles be placed at the Intrepid; and
Whereas, The City of New York has an extensive history with NASA as NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies is located in New York City and works cooperatively with area universities and research institutions; and
Whereas, A park and a playground are named to honor Ronald E. McNair, a Congressional Space Medal of Honor recipient, and there are four public schools which focus on careers in aviation and aerospace; and
Whereas, A number of noteworthy astronauts, such as Karol Bobko, commander of the Atlantis' first shuttle mission in October of 1985, called the City of New York home; and
Whereas, NASA will announce the final destinations for the three soon-to-be-retired shuttles on April 12, 2011, the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle launching; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon National Aeronautics and Space Administration Administrator, Charles F. Bolden, to retire at least one space shuttle to New York City for permanent residence at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
BF
LS# 2173
3/14/11