Parkland's Space Shuttle Blake Bound For LVIA

The Parkland School District's Space Shuttle Blake is blasting off...for the Lehigh Valley International Airport.

The Parkland School Board voted Thursday on a deal that will allow the shuttle to live on as museum piece/tourist attraction at the airport. 

LVIA will give the district $1 for the shuttle, which is kept at Schnecksville Elementary School. In return, Parkland students, staff and board members can continue to visit it for free.

"It's win-win," said Superintendent Richard Sniscak.

Introduced 20 years ago, the shuttle is a mobile classroom made from a converted military bus. On the outside, it looks like a space shuttle, four-tenths the actual size. It has ground-to-space communication capabilities, a flight simulator and hydraulic wings.
 
It was a teaching tool for thousands of Lehigh Valley children, and even visited the Kennedy Space Center in 2011.

The Blake's fate was sealed partly due to the retirement of teacher Bob Boehmer, who oversaw the program, but also by forces beyond the district's control.

"NASA has dissolved its space shuttle program and it forced us to change our curriculum," Sniscak said.

Allentown's Da Vinci Center expressed tentative interest in acquiring the shuttle, but Sniscak said that possibility went away when the center's executive director left his post.

More than 64,000 local students visited the shuttle during its time at Parkland. 

"I do remember those being my favorite field trips," said Michael Falco, the school board's student representative. "It's good to know it's going somewhere people can appreciate it."

Board member Robert Bold's memories went back further: "I remember when it was still a bus."