New York wants space shuttle for museum

NEW YORK, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- New York City wants to be home to one of NASA's space shuttles when the shuttle fleet is retired in 2011, city officials say.

New York's Intrepid Sea-Air and Space Museum is lobbying hard to acquire one of the historic shuttles for its collection once they are retired at the end of their space careers, the New York Daily News reports.

"We believe the merits of New York City and the Intrepid will continue to position New York to be a final destination for a shuttle," Susan Marenoff, the museum's executive director, said

"The opportunity for an enormous population to visit, to learn and simply see this icon in a contextual historical setting simply cannot be ignored," she told the Daily News.

The museum has launched a campaign to gather public support for becoming the final destination for one of the shuttles.

NASA's three operational shuttles, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, are scheduled for retirement next year, and interest is high among interested museums in the United States. More than 20 museums and institutions across the nation have placed a bid for one of the three shuttles, SPACE.com reported.