Space Center puts live webcam on team reassembling 747 shuttle carrier

Space Center Houston is letting you watch live online as workers reassemble the 747 space shuttle carrier that they acquired from NASA for its planned space shuttle Independence exhibit.



The NASA 905 jet ferried dozens of space shuttles just back from orbit during the days of the shuttle program. It was moved from a remote part of Ellington Field to its new home just outside the front doors of Space Center Houston in late April during a high-profile two-night move through the streets of Clear Lake.



At this link, through the magic of webcams, you can watch Boeing staff reassemble the plane.

Right now, Boeing's team appears to be preparing the base where the plane will sit. This is the same team that dismantled the plane at Ellington over the course of several months.



"This is the first time that a Boeing 747 has been reassembled in the open air," Paul Spana, exhibits manager at Space Center Houston, said in a press release Monday. The Boeing team is said to be working seven days a week in order to get the 747 ready to be coupled with the center's shuttle replica later this summer.



The Independence shuttle replica will eventually sit atop the plane as part of a $12 million, six-story interactive attraction.

Unlike the real space-worn shuttles currently at other sites around the United States, this will be the only shuttle -- albeit a replica -- that the public will be able to tour.