Bigger On the Inside: 1st Look at Houston's New 747-Space Shuttle Exhibit

Space Shuttle on Boeing 747 at Independence Plaza
Independence Plaza at Space Center Houston is the only place in the world where the public can see a space shuttle (mockup) mounted atop a Boeing 747 jetliner. It is also the only exhibit where the public can enter both vehicles. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com)

HOUSTON — A large sign outside the entrance to Space Center Houston promotes the six-story-tall centerpiece of the new Independence Plaza as "bigger on the inside."

Starting on Saturday (Jan. 23), the public will have a chance to see for themselves as general boarding begins of the largest single artifact saved from NASA's space shuttle program: the original Boeing 747 jumbo jet that ferried the shuttle orbiters across the country between missions. Making the 8-story-tall exhibit even bigger is the addition of a full-size space shuttle replica. [Photo Gallery: First Look at Houston's New 747-Shuttle Exhibit]

Space Center Houston visitors can enter the replica space shuttle Independenceto peer into a detailed replica of the flight deck, where the commander and pilot were seated to fly the orbiter, and then take a turn posing for a photo in replica shuttle chairs. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com)

"It is a world-class [exhibit]," said Frank Marlow, who was among the NASA pilots who flew the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. "It was such an honor to fly it."

Almost four years in the making, Independence Plaza is the only place in the world where the public can see a (mock) space shuttle atop a Boeing 747 jetliner and be able to go inside both. NASA's retired space shuttle orbiters and its second Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, NASA 911, are on display at other museums across the nation but those vehicles can only be viewed from their outside.

Inside the mock space shuttle Independence, guests can tour a detailed replica of the orbiter's two-level crew cabin. On the flight deck, they can see the controls the commander and pilot used to fly the shuttle. On the mid-deck, the public can enter where the astronauts lived, as well as walk into payload bay.

One of the new hands-on exhibits inside NASA’s original Shuttle Carrier Aircraft at Space Center Houston replicates a wind tunnel like the type NASA used to ensure the jumbo jet could safely fly with the space shuttle. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com)

A hands-on museum now fills the length of NASA 905's fuselage, providing guests with a look back at the history of the space shuttle and how a jumbo jet was able to fly the orbiters between the launch and landing sites. Visitors can try their hands at mating a shuttle atop a 747, run the aircraft and spacecraft stack through a wind tunnel and view the original flying scale model of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft that convinced NASA a jetliner could carry an orbiter piggyback.

The eight-story-tall access tower that enables guests to enter both the aircraft and shuttle also offers panoramic views of NASA's nearby Johnson Space Center and the surrounding Clear Lake area in Houston.

"Visitors will be a part of history entering this one-of-a kind exhibit," Richard Allen, the president and CEO of Space Center Houston, said.

See full coverage of Space Center Houston's Independence Plaza at collectSPACE.com.

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Robert Z. Pearlman
collectSPACE.com Editor, Space.com Contributor

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. He previously developed online content for the National Space Society and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, helped establish the space tourism company Space Adventures and currently serves on the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, the advisory committee for The Mars Generation and leadership board of For All Moonkind. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.