New York is poised to win its campaign to bring a retired space shuttle to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday.

The senior lawmaker said a number of sources have told him the floating museum on Manhattan’s West Side has the inside track in the fight to land one of NASA’s iconic rockets.

“I believe we are in good shape,” Schumer said. “It’s not a done deal, but the arguments we have made about why the shuttle belongs in New York are resonating.”

The Daily News has championed the cause of bringing a space shuttle to the Intrepid. More than 20 other institutions around the country are vying for Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis. The Smithsonian in the nation’s capital is said to be the front-runner for Discovery.

Schumer said New York has stiff competition for the other shuttles from at least two other cities, which he refused to name.

NASA originally vowed to make a decision on the shuttles in July and now says it will decide by the end of the year.

Schumer said he is hearing that a decision will be announced in the next “few weeks.”

Despite being in front, New York still has some work to do before it can seal the deal and bring a powerful attraction to the West Side.

“The fat lady hasn’t started to sing,” he said.

(Source: NY Daily News)