I was finally able to do the Kennedy Space Center - Cape Canaveral: Then and Now tour and what I found is heartbreaking. The utter state of disrepair at the museum and its hardware some of the only surviving rockets and space flight vehicles and service structures are rusting and rotting away. We need to make our voice heard to protect and preserve this National treasure and Landmarks...
service structures are rusting and rotting away.
Am I seeing things, or did they take the derrick down?
Any reason they won't do the same to preserve the Delta 4?I remember my first visit back in the early 90's,you could still drive to and park at the museum.
Quote from: Keltisch WerWolf on 07/14/2014 05:37 pmI was finally able to do the Kennedy Space Center - Cape Canaveral: Then and Now tour and what I found is heartbreaking. The utter state of disrepair at the museum and its hardware some of the only surviving rockets and space flight vehicles and service structures are rusting and rotting away. We need to make our voice heard to protect and preserve this National treasure and Landmarks... If you are talking specifically about the Cape Canaveral AF Space Museum, yes it has long been a place of suffering for outdoor "rocket garden" artifacts. The good news is that the Museum has been steadily removing rockets from the "garden", restoring them, and storing most of them inside a Cape Canaveral hangar where they will no longer suffer from rain, hail, corrosive salt air, bird droppings, and so on. That big Delta 4 stage will likely never see such a restoration cycle. - Ed Kyle
That's right, members of the general public used to be able to stop at the CCAFS gate and ask for a pass to go to the museum, on weekends I think, and of course only on days when the range was clear. 9/11 changed all that, and I suspect that may have contributed to the deterioration of the rocket garden since.
What is the rocket on picture 6344 ? It looks like a Delta IV...
Quote from: Keltisch WerWolf on 07/14/2014 05:37 pmservice structures are rusting and rotting away.There is no sense in maintaining an abandoned in place structure. There is no need to do anything to LC-34.
Quote from: Jim on 07/14/2014 05:54 pmQuote from: Keltisch WerWolf on 07/14/2014 05:37 pmservice structures are rusting and rotting away.There is no sense in maintaining an abandoned in place structure. There is no need to do anything to LC-34.Well, is it not protected as a historical landmark? Obviously, no need to keep them operational but some sort of preservation maybe?
Although an obvious spot to remember the lost Apollo crew, for me LC 34 is just as importantly the place where the very first Saturn I and Saturn IB/Apollo flights and the very first manned Apollo (Apollo 7) mission lifted off. If someone proposed demolishing and rebuilding it as a new launch complex I would be all for it - as I suspect would Grissom, White, and Chaffee. - Ed Kyle
Quote from: edkyle99 on 07/15/2014 12:27 amAlthough an obvious spot to remember the lost Apollo crew, for me LC 34 is just as importantly the place where the very first Saturn I and Saturn IB/Apollo flights and the very first manned Apollo (Apollo 7) mission lifted off. If someone proposed demolishing and rebuilding it as a new launch complex I would be all for it - as I suspect would Grissom, White, and Chaffee. - Ed KyleYes, true enough; I believe they would as well. To continue what they were acheiving, yes, that would be a great honour.