Former Meigs Field Operator Says Retired Shuttle Should NOT Go To Adler Planetarium

Special To ANN By Rich Davidson

Politics in aviation is something we must all learn to deal with. You may not like it, but it rules our lives.  Therefore, we can choose to know it so that we may in turn defeat it, or we can ignore it and get run over. Or, in this case, we could be insulted with no recourse.

I have not been a fan of NASA for many years now. I would love to be but I am not. Inside the walls of these letters lie a plethora of intelligent people stifled with bureaucracy. Brilliant people, who once sought to advance aerospace, in the greatest aerospace organization on the planet now find themselves working for a dwindling government agency driven, not by scientists or engineers, but by the whims of politicians de jour.  This is why I do not like NASA. They are stifling our talent and our dollars.

But now, NASA has come up with a way to recoup some of our misspent dollars and in the process a way to win back my heart. How? That's easy. They can tell Chicago they will not get one of the retired space shuttles.

What? You haven't heard? NASA is offering the retiring Space Shuttles up for "sale" and one of the organizations in the bidding is Chicago's Adler Planetarium. So what's the big deal?

The Adler Planetarium sits on the same peninsula where the famed Meigs Field once sat before it was deviously cut up in the darkness of night by the City of Chicago. And now, the city's planetarium has the audacity to say they want to orbiter so that they could use it "to inspire the next generation of explorers" and "serve as inspiration for math and science education."  This is total bunk.

Let's just call it how it is. These orbiters are seen by these people at trophies, not teaching tools, and the actual exchange of money is merely a way of making it look legitimate. But already it has been said the final decision, as to who gets them, will come down to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. He has asked that those in the running for the orbiters describe the "benefit to the nation" that would come from their receiving a shuttle. This includes how they would use it to "inspire the American public" and "increase the public's ability to understand the nation's space exploration agenda." I find it very insightful that NASA chose to use the word "agenda" instead of "mission" when it comes to this so called bid.

On NASA's website, it clearly says it conducts its work in four principal organizations, called mission directorates: Among these four missions is one critical to the Space Shuttle's success, "Aeronautics". This mission "pioneers and proves new flight technologies that improve our ability to explore and which have practical applications on Earth."  This mission is also clearly at odds with Chicago and the location upon which the orbiter would sit. Awarding an orbiter therefore, to the planetarium, would be an insult to the combined intelligence of the aviation community, without which the shuttles would never have completed a single successful flight.

Adler Planetarium Artist's Conception

Knowing this, you might think there is no way Chicago would win one of the orbiter bids. But let's look at some recent history.  During the past decade, many airline mergers were proposed and road blocked or shot down all together by the federal government and politicians, Democrats and Republicans alike. These included United and USAir (twice), American and Northwest, and Delta and Continental. Through the years, airline mergers have faced a long tough process of federal government approval. And, as a result, many airlines folded, others continued operating in the red, and the rest somehow managed to attract enough passengers with the allure of terrible service to stay afloat. Then, in 2010, United and Continental announced their proposed merger.

When this proposed merger hit the news, it was reported in such a manner that sounded and felt as though it was already approved. Three months later, in record time, it was just that; approved. In the merger, the strong airline, Continental, agreed to move its headquarters to Chicago and take the name of the airline on life support; United. Now why would they do such a thing?  Political posturing is why. Chicago jobs were saved, jobs were added when headquarters were moved to Chicago, the name of the Chicago based airline was taken, and ultimately they received, what was considered by many, guaranteed federal approval from a federal government led by a President from Chicago.

Now move forward to today when Chicago's very own Adler Planetarium decides it wants a Space Shuttle. The new mayor is the President's previous right hand man, and the person who will make the final decision, as to who will get the orbiters, is the NASA Administrator who in an interview said he has three goals as administrator; re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, to expand NASA's international relationships, and to reach out to and engage the Muslim world. Neither of these is on NASA's list of mission directorates. So clearly, he is driven by politics.

NASA Administrator Bolden

Having looked at this situation thoroughly, there is but one question left; who will get the other one? But let's not give up.

If you would like to contact NASA and "encourage" them to award the orbiters to someone other than Chicago, here is their contact information. You do not have a lot of time as they plan to announce the winners on April 12th and the administrator's decision will be made days before then.

Public Communications Office
NASA Headquarters
Suite 5K39
Washington, DC 20546-0001
(202) 358-0001 (Office)
public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov

FMI: www.nasa.gov

About The Author: Rich Davidson belives he was the last person to base a commercial operation at Meigs, not counting the contractor that sold fuel. Having seen what he says is the blatant corruption that exists in Chicago first-hand, he feels qualified to make these remarks. The author contacted the Planetarium before submitting this article, but did not receive a reply.