Sandy Adams Asks NASA to House Retired Shuttle at KSC

With only two more space shuttle flights scheduled before the program is terminated, a congresswoman from Florida turned up the heat this week on NASA administrators as the Sunshine State dukes it out with other locations to house the retired orbiters.

Freshman Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams sent a letter on Tuesday to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, asking for one of the retired orbiters to be housed at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).

From the very beginning of the shuttle era at NASA, Kennedy Space Center has been the epicenter for shuttle activity, argued Adams in the letter.

Florida celebrates the victories and mourns the losses at NASA as a family, continued Adams as she reviewed the program. We all mourned the loss of the seven brave souls aboard the space shuttle Challenger in January of 1986.

The space shuttle is as much a part of Florida as sunshine and beaches, Adams maintained. Not only has it been a rich part of Floridas history, it has been an economic driver and a source of inspiration for the tens of thousands of people who support its operations and have made their homes in our great state.

Adams asked that Bolden remember the role Florida played in the shuttle program and house a retired orbiter at KSC.

I urge you to consider the important role the people of Florida have played in this era of exploration and adventure, and that you choose to house one of the shuttles at the KSC complex, wrote Adams. I ask that you remember the sacrifices NASA astronauts and workers have made, the families who are being affected by the new direction at NASA, and all of the people whose lives will be forever changed as we move forward to the next chapter in NASAs mission.