New Space Capsule On Display At Intrepid As Debate Over Enterprise Continues
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Russian space capsule is the newest addition to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum as the debate continues over who should get the Shuttle Enterprise.
The Russian Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft arrived early Tuesday morning at the Intrepid and will be part of the museum's interactive displays on outer space.
The Soyuz TMA-6 was used in missions to the International Space Station. It has scorch marks from re-entry along the outside shell of the 7-foot tall by 7-foot wide spacecraft.
It's on loan to the Intrepid by private citizen Greg Olson, who traveled to the space station in 2005.
Meanwhile, the museum has also been getting ready for its other big arrival, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, scheduled to be a special exhibit on the Intrepid.
But some members of Congress from Texas are trying to block the plan. They say the Intrepid has interfered with its own plan to have a shuttle exhibit.
Among other things, they say the Intrepid museum wants to house the shuttle in a building that has yet to be built on land it doesn't yet own.
"New York, God bless 'em, they're a wonderful city but they have no connection to the space program and no connection to NASA, so why would the shuttle go to New York," said Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas). "It's like putting the Statue of Liberty in Omaha."
Back in April, Sen. Chuck Schumer said NASA gave New York the shuttle for a simple reason.
"What NASA was looking for is 'what is the capital of the world? Where will the most people see the shuttle?' In New York, not in Houston, Texas," Schumer said.
NASA hopes the Enterprise will be in place at the Intrepid by the middle of 2014.
The shuttle is expected to draw an additional 1 million visitors a year to what is already a very popular attraction on the Intrepid.
For more information, visit www.intrepidmuseum.org.
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