Now I have seen just about everything on the road:
Off SR 528 just before you reach the Indian River to go to Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach on Merritt Island, there is a marine junkyard. Resting at the site is a tour ship that used to travel the St John's Rover from Sanford (the Rivership Romance). It was a an old Great Lakes packet boat that was deemed too rusted by the US Coast Guard to be usable so it was sent to the Breakers. Both vessels can be seen from SR 528.
Next to it is the USS Intrepid, the Shuttle Mockup that was next to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. It too is off to the breakers.
It is a sad metaphor for the US Space Program. Pity, I wonder if the British Science Museum is aware of this junkyard find. It will not be there for very long.
Manuel Mejia, Jr.
Astatula, FLA, USA
Manuel just followed up with this email:
I received word from Britain that they may want to take the Shuttle and put it on display in Lencolnsire at the British Space Center.
This seems to be mostly wrong. It's Inspiration, not Intrepid, and according to this piece from January it's slated for refurbishment, not demolition: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2016/01/15/shuttle-model-inspiration-barging-into-new-mission/78751148/.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rich -
DeleteI appreciate the news link. I posted this more as a "roadside" camera opportunity for Florida visitors.
I can understand Manuel's concern, he saw it in a scrap yard, not yet re-built. Let's hope it is refurbished and ends up back on display.