N.Y. keeps chance at shuttle on Intrepid

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- New York City's campaign to land a space shuttle lives another day thanks to a vote in Congress.

The House Thursday passed a $19 million NASA funding bill, retaining language that keeps the city in the running for one of the three shuttles NASA will give away after the program ends, the New York Daily News reported.

"This legislation will ensure a level playing field for New York, and on a level playing field, New York will win," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who last month repelled moves by the Florida and Texas delegations to kill New York's chances.

The Senate bill would have limited the bidding to sites that had participated in shuttle launch or flight operations, but Gillibrand put in language on astronaut retrievals.

The USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier, helped pick up several astronauts at sea after space missions in the 1960s. New York wants to bring a shuttle to the Intrepid, now a floating museum on the Hudson River.

The NASA bill passed the Senate last month and goes to President Obama for his signature.