Spacecraft of the Week #13

This week we honor the final Apollo moon flight and make the Apollo 17 Command Module America the Spacecraft of the Week. Launched on Pearl Harbor day, December 7 in the year 1972, Apollo 17 was the most ambitious lunar mission to date. Carrying Gene Cernan, Ron Evans and Harrison Schmidt to the moon, America would remain in orbit with Evans while Cernan and Schmidt lived in the moon for three days. Many people call the "last" mission to the moon. I like to refer to it as the most recent. I refuse to believe that we will not again venture out into that "magnificent desolation". We can do it, if we have the will. And it will drive the economy up more than and faster than any stimulus package.

You can find America at Space Center Houston, Houston Texas. Although displayed in subdued lighting, it is uncovered (save the hatch area covered with plexiglas) so up close detailed photography is possible besides the artistic mood shots (as I try to illustrate). It is also displayed with a flown Mercury (Faith 7) and Gemini (Gemini V), one of only two places in the world where the three flown and manned spacecraft can be seen in the same room, the other being the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. So to honor all those who made the lunar missions possible, and to look forward toward more to come, we salute Apollo 17 as our Spacecraft of the Week.

Spacecraft of the Week #5

This weeks spacecraft is actually a trainer, or rather a suite of trainers, that will soon be up for grabs to museums across the country. NASA has entered into an agreement with the General Accounting Office (GAO) to parcel out space shuttle artifacts to interested museums. A couple things to note about this, is that the agreement does not include the orbiters which is being covered under a separate solicitation (NASA has offered Discovery to the Smithsonian and will choose the location for the other two), and that the Smithsonian get first right of refusal under a longstanding agreement from the days of the Mercury program, and official NASA visitor centers get the second look before it opens to all comers on October 1.

Among the items are the shuttle trainers seen above at Building 9 of the Johnson Space Center. These trainers help accustom astronauts to the tasks that they will perform during their mission. The Full Fuselage Trainer (image left) is a complete mockup of an orbiter, minus the wings. Is is used to orient the astronauts with the locations of items and supplies they will find onboard. It is also used to train emergency egress training - if an orbiter's landing gear fails during landing, astronauts can blow a window and repel down from the cockpit. Located at top center in the image is the Crew Compartment Trainer. This is unique as it can be pitched up 90º to train astros on how to board the craft at the pad. The item seen at the bottom is the Manipulator Development Facility, used to train those astronauts using the Remote Manipulator System or robot arm.

While there is a chance that some or all of these items will remain where they are and be a more integrated part of Space Center Houston's tour of JSC, or parceled out to other museums or NASA visitor centers remains to be seen. Hopefully, it means these important artifacts of our space program will be preserved and cared for for years to come.

Time Capsules

Before Space Center Houston, a museum existed in the lobby area of JSC Building 2 and behind the auditorium. Although the space was limited the collection was noteworthy, with a flown example of each of NASA's manned programs including a Lunar Module and Rover. Visitors could just drive onto the center, park, visit the museum, and even take a walking tour of JSC. That all changed with the opening of Space Center Houston. I have updated the Gemini V and Faith 7 pages with pictures of the old display, provided by Lawrence Baldwin and David Temple. More to follow.