June 18, 2010

Museum of Flight building could house space shuttle

SRG Partnership image courtesy of the Museum of Flight [enlarge]

Construction is scheduled to start next week on the Space Gallery, which may house a space shuttle.

The Museum of Flight will break ground next week on a glass building that could permanently house one of the space shuttles.

Even though there's no guarantee Seattle will get a shuttle, the museum must have the building done by July 2011 to be considered, said Bonnie Dunbar, a veteran of five shuttle flights and president and CEO of the museum next to Boeing Field.

The estimated cost of the building, called the Space Gallery, is approximately $12 million, according to museum Marketing Director Mike Bush. The museum is proceeding with the project because securing a shuttle would help it achieve its mission to be the world's foremost educational air and space museum.

Designed by SRG Partnership, the 15,500-square-foot gallery will have a glass facade. A portion of another wall will also be glass. Sellen Construction is the general contractor, and the Seneca Group is the development manager for the gallery, which will be lit up at night, allowing passers-by to see the shuttle, which according to Bush, is 56 feet tall and 121 feet long.

“If you're approaching from East Marginal Way, it's going to be pretty striking,” he said.

An animation of the Space Gallery is at www.museumofflight.org/shuttleboosters/gallery

In winding down the space shuttle program, NASA is deciding what to do with the four shuttles that remain. Bush said the Enterprise is at the Smithsonian, and three others are still flying. When they're retired, Discovery will automatically be awarded to the Smithsonian, which will release Enterprise. The Enterprise, Endeavour and Atlantis will be available to museums.

Last week, Dunbar told a Seattle group, Commercial Real Estate Women, that the race for the shuttles is “very competitive,” and that politics could play in a role in deciding who gets them. NASA won't say who's in the running, but there are rumors that some 20 venues applied.

“I believe we can bring a shuttle to Washington state,” said Dunbar, who talked about how the museum does meet NASA's criteria. Museums must be dedicated to education and be next to a runway long enough to land the Boeing 747 that will deliver the shuttles.

Museum officials aren't sure when NASA will announce the winners. “It could be tomorrow, it could be in six months,” said Bush. “We expect to hear fairly soon.”

Dunbar said that if the Museum of Flight doesn't get a shuttle, other artifacts will be displayed in the gallery. The museum has the right of first refusal for other NASA artifacts, and the gallery could have commercial space for start-up companies, Dunbar added.

The museum is still raising money for the gallery. Bush declined to say how much money the museum has raised and anticipates releasing that information when the project formally breaks ground, which probably will be next Friday.

The gallery is being built on the west side of East Marginal Way South, where the museum also plans to build a new campus for Aviation High School, a Highline School District program. The scope and timing has not yet been determined and depend on the success of the capital campaign, Bush said.