Welcome to Houston, Space Shuttle Replica

While I was out running errands today, I decided to drive by NASA JSC and Space Center Houston to see if I could catch a glimpse of Space Shuttle replica that Houston received over the weekend.

I saw the tail of the shuttle from NASA Parkway, so I u-turned and went north on Saturn Lane. There poking out through a grove of trees was the space shuttle, right across the street from the Saturn V and Mercury rockets. Two other space aficionados had pulled off the road to take some pictures, so I joined them. Our view was from the rear and partly blocked by the trees, even when standing on my truck. Here's my pic from that vantage point:

Then, I headed over to Space Center Houston to see if they would let me go into their parking lot to take some close-up pictures. I ended up having to pay the $6 parking fee, but I think it was worth it. Here are two more pics from the parking lot:

and

I also snapped this picture of one of the Orion Space Capsules just sitting in the parking lot:

I'm happy that NASA JSC in Houston ended up with a space shuttle memory, but it still grates on my nerves that the "real" shuttles went elsewhere. I found it ironic that Space Shuttle Enterprise was damaged today on its way to NYC.