By Jill Colvin and Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — The countdown to NASA's decision on the fate of three retiring space shuttles is on, and Wednesday, the City Council will weigh in.
The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum hopes to offer a retirement home to either the Discovery, Endeavour or Atlantis — each of which will never return to orbit after this year. But across the country, competition for the three shuttles is fierce.
If passed, the Council's resolution would call on NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to send one of the retirees to New York, where an online petition has collected over 150,000 signatures since the campaign began. NASA will make their decision on April 12.
On Tuesday, the Council's Committee on Cultural Affairs heard testimony from museum president Susan Marenoff-Zausner.
"Where better than New York?" Marenoff-Zausner said during the hearing, citing the city's status as a capital of tourism and media and the Intrepid's extensive education programming.
The vessel also has a historic connection to the space program. In the 1960s, the Intrepid served as the recovery vehicle for astronauts on the Mercury 7 and Gemini 3 missions.
"These brave space explorers walked on Intrepid's decks and stood along her rails," Marenoff-Zausner said.
But if New York is selected, those shuttles won't come free. Marenoff-Zausner estimated the cost for decontamination, transportation, construction and preservation at $40 million.
One Councilwoman supporting the resolution is Committee on Cultural Affairs member Jessica Lappin.
"I think [the Intrepid] would be a natural fitting home for it," Lappin said. "It will be a wonderful thing for school children, for tourists, for anyone who's interested in air and space...and our history."
