Posted 4/16/2011 02:00:00 PM by Douglas

More fallout on the ultimate location of retired space shuttles, "Chuck Schumer, shut the fuck up" edition.

"I say to Houston, when people all around the world, in London and in Tokyo and in Paris, Buenos Aires say 'Gee, I can't wait for my trip to Houston,' then you can have a shuttle," said Schumer.

But it's not just about tourism, is it?

By his logic that the shuttles belong in the most internationally visited places, we should give the Enterprise to Paris, which has nearly twice as many international visitors and just as much to do with NASA's success.

New York, the city with the most tourist attractions in the country, needs a shuttle added to the mix like Donald Trump needs another bankrupt building with his name on it. Houston, on the other hand, considers the space program its contribution to posterity and the heart of a town built around science and engineering.

Hard to argue with that. Also hard to argue that Schumer isn't an asshole, but that's a different story. Even harder to argue with Wayne Hale, who used to run the shuttle program:

But my suspicions lie closer to home. Houston didn’t get an orbiter because Houston didn’t deserve it.

He goes on to back up this thesis quite well. There is a ho-hum sense of entitlement about JSC in the minds of Houston. That's because JSC doesn't launch anything, and as far as the Houston economy, it's a spot on the fly on the ass on the dog that is the petrochemical industry and energy sector.

Still, it would have been nice to have a shuttle in Houston. All the retired NASA engineers could take their kids there to show them the space ship they used to work on before they went to work in the oil patch.