Photo By Christopher Goulait | The space shuttle Discovery arrived at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Udvar...... read more read more
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FORT BELVOIR, Va. - The modified 747 jumbo jet that carried NASA’s space shuttle Discovery from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to Washington Dulles International Airport, Va., April 17 was powered by Defense Logistics Agency-procured fuel.
NASA’s modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft carried the 87-ton shuttle on its back for a flyover various landmarks in the protected airspace above Washington and into Virginia, down the Potomac River past Ronald Reagan National Airport and onto Dulles Airport to be offloaded and transported to the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and placed on display.
The museum welcomed the shuttle into its permanent collection April 19. The public’s first views of the Discovery in its final resting place were April 20.
The Aerospace Energy business unit became part of DLA Energy in 2001, when it was transferred from the Air Force, and the organization has supported several NASA space programs.
DLA Energy Aerospace Energy provided the shuttle fleet’s Orbital Maneuvering Subsystem and the Aft Reaction Control Subsystem with “hypergolic propellants monomethlyhydrazine” as fuel. It also provided an oxidizer, “dinitrogen tetroxide.” The Auxiliary Power Unit, which used “monopropellant hydrazine,” was also supplied by the Aerospace Energy business unit.
NASA’s 30-year space shuttle program ended when the shuttle Atlantis touched down July 21, 2011, and returned to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, its final destination. For DLA Energy, this did not mark the end of the mission, but rather the end of one phase of its mission to support NASA space flight.
"It has been Aerospace Energy's distinct honor to support NASA's space shuttle mission with many products, including two critical hypergolic propellants: hydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide,” the business unit’s director, Sharon Murphy, said.
“We are sad to see it retired, but we look forward to continuing support to NASA on its other programs. We will also continue to support U.S. Air Force launches and our commercial customers’ launches and space programs,” Murphy continued.
The final missions for the shuttles were their transportation to their new homes. After unloading the Discovery at Dulles International Airport, the NASA SCA had the prototype shuttle, Enterprise, strapped to its back for its journey to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. From JFK, the Enterprise will be transported to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a converted aircraft carrier berthed in Manhattan. It had been on display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center since 2003.
DLA Energy supported this final shuttle mission as the jumbo jet refueled at Dulles using the Aviation Into-plane Reimbursement Card, or AIR Card, a program managed by DLA Energy’s Government Fuel Card Program Management Office.
Deborah VanKleef, acting director of the Government Fuel Card Program Management Office, said she was gratified by the AIR Card’s role in these historic final shuttle missions.
"Although we're behind the scene, it's always good to know that one of DLA's most recognized purchasing tools, … the AIR Card, can be easily used by NASA in support of a federal civilian agency mission as well as serving the warfighter,” VanKleef said. “We strive to meet the refueling needs of our customers around the globe, and our fuel cards are great example of providing commercial support on 24/7 basis."
The shuttle Endeavor, which is now being prepared for its final flight at the end of the month, will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, according to a NASA press release.
| Date Taken: | 05.02.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.03.2012 17:00 |
| Story ID: | 87838 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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