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Some cities have skylines. Huntsville, Alabama has a “space line”. Or so it does again with the renovation of “Rocket Row” at the US Space and Rocket Center. On Thursday (July 18), a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the center’s Rocket Park to mark the first step in the return of its historic boosters. After being lowered in 2018 for an off-site refurbishment, the five historic rockets are back on their feet.
“These historic artifacts have welcomed millions of visitors, serving as a tangible symbol of humanity’s journey into space,” said Kimberly Robinson, CEO and executive director of the US Space & Rocket Center. “Originally intended for active space missions shortly after assembly, these rockets have been proudly displayed for over five decades, enduring the passage of time and the elements.”
“However, the years finally took their toll,” she said, “which necessitated restoration to preserve these precious artifacts for future generations.”
The founder of a cloud computing company and the father of a Space Camp server at the rocket center heard about the plight of the rockets and donated $2 million to the effort. “Freide [Luddy] saw the condition of our historic rockets and was concerned.
He generously offered and we accepted a large gift that launched the Rocket Row renovation,” said Robinson. “We are so grateful for his servant’s heart. It was his heart to help keep our little center and the legacy of these rockets alive for generations to come.”
Visitors to the center will soon be able to tour the newly renovated and expanded Rocket Park, including the US Army’s Redstone Jupiter, Jupiter-C, Juno II and Mercury-Redstone rockets. The five Chrysler-built vehicles, installed before the museum opened in 1970, represent the Redstone family of rockets that led to the development of the Saturn I and, ultimately, the Saturn V that sent NASA’s Apollo astronauts to the moon.
The dedication ceremony took place two days after the 55th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Rocket Row also includes an authentic Saturn I, which has been restored in its place. Nearby, a Saturn V replica stands outside the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, housing one of the three remaining moon rockets.
Brooks Moore, a member of the US Army’s rocket development team and a longtime doctor at the rocket center, tapped into his personal history to provide advice on the Rocket Row redesign. He died in April aged 97.
“I wish he could be here today to celebrate with us,” said Robinson. “I am so happy that Brooks’ instructions are now cast in steel and concrete.”
The rockets were refurbished by Cosmos Aerospace in Cullman, including repairs and repainting. The Juno II, for example, shows the liner of the 1959 rocket that launched Pioneer 4, the first US probe to escape Earth’s gravity and fly by the moon before entering a heliocentric orbit.
The Mercury-Redstone rocket on display was returned to the same black and white markings it had when it “flew” on November 21, 1960. The booster was intended to lob an uncrewed Mercury capsule into flight under -orbit, but after it has been raised. only four inches off the ground, it stopped and settled back on the launch pad (the capsule then escaped and jettisoned away).
New to the Rocket Park is the engine section from NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) core stage finder, an engineering simulator built to match the size, weight and center of gravity of the flight hardware. The probe was used in 2019 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and at other NASA centers for fit checks and to practice handling the actual core stages, which will send the next astronauts to fly to the moon.
“This recent acquisition and display reminds us that we are still on this journey of exploration,” said Robinson.
Work still needs to be done to install the four mass simulators that represent the core stage RS-25 rocket engines.
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Once completed, the Rocket Park expansion will include a new amphitheater for educational experiences and community events, as well as greener and guest-friendly spaces. A notable feature will be the Marshall Retirees Association’s Space Exploration Wall of Honor. The monument will include the names of more than 22,000 local men and women who have supported space exploration at Marshall Space Flight Center or at companies that have worked with NASA in the Huntsville area.
The last element of the rocket center’s “spaceline,” the space shuttle Pathfinder, is expected to be ready in a few months after its own overhaul. Pathfinder was NASA’s original model of its post-Apollo winged orbiter, used for facility checks. Once ready, it will once again be displayed atop an external tank test section and prototype solid rocket boosters, which will be one of only two complete shuttle stacks in the world.
The US Space & Rocket Center, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is the official visitor center for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and home to the US Space Camp.
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