Out of this world
published:
Tuesday | August 26, 2008
Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor
This giant-sized spaceship dominates the Huntsville skyline from miles away.
The Marshall Space Flight Center located at 1 Tranquility Base in Huntsville (nicknamed Rocket City), is a must-see for the visitor to Alabama in the United States of America. The entire tour, including a movie, visit to the gift shop, tours of the exhibits and just drinking in the sights, could last all day. It puts in perspective, the United States' space programme, showing how it all began.
From newspaper clippings to simulated rides and exhibits of artefacts that predate modern technology, it is ideal for students of all ages, a family-fun activity, as well as persons with an interest in space exploration.Lifestyle recently visited the centre, and found particularly interesting, the Spacedome Imax Theater where popular film, The Dark Knight, in the Batman series was being shown. It is action-packed from start to finish but what makes it even more exciting is that the action is a three-dimensional wrap-around effect, taking up the entire dome-like screen and making you feel you are actually in the movie. The reality is eerie. This is a totally unique state-of-the-art plane-tarium experience that literally sends the audience into orbit! Notes from the movie reveal that director Christopher Nolan chose to film six sequences using IMAX cameras and if you are easily scared, you will at times get the impression that the film's characters are stepping into your laps! The result is a dizzy, head-spinning feeling but it's all very entertaining.
The Center
The Marshall Space Flight Center is home to a space camp, aviation challenge and X-camp. Also located on the huge property are the Spacedome Theater, rocket park, the education training center, which houses NASA's Educator Resource Center, and more.
The Marshall Space Flight Center is like no other in the country. In its 476-foot long, 90-foot wide and 63-foot high structure, suspended 10 feet above the floor, is a national historic treasure, the mighty Saturn V, restored to its Apollo-era readiness.
Huntsville's role
Visitors get to discover Huntsville's role, from as far back as the early '60s, in the making of the moon rocket, the space race, the Apollo missions, learn about the Space Shuttle programme, the International Space Station and onto the next beginnings with NASA's Constellation project.
The first visitor center opened in 1970 and has served over 12 million visitors to date. As the official visitor information center for the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the USSRC is committed to educating the public and students, who attend space camp, about the work being done at MSFC, particularly in the area of propulsion where MSFC has made significant contributions in the Apollo and shuttle programmes and is again on the forefront with the Ares rockets.
Wernher von Braun
But it all began with German born Wernher von Braun who worked with the US army in the development of ballistic missiles. As part of a military operation called Project Paperclip, he and his rocket team were brought from Germany to America where they were installed at Fort Bliss, Texas. There they worked on rockets for the US Army, launching them at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico. In 1950, von Braun's team moved to the Redstone Arsenal, near Huntsville, Alabama, where they built the Army's Jupiter ballistic missile.
In 1960, von Braun's rocket development center transferred him from the army to the newly established NASA and received a mandate to build the giant Saturn rockets. von Braun became director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, the superbooster that would propel Americans to the Moon.
Von Braun also became one of the most prominent spokesmen of space exploration in the United States during the 1950s. In 1970, NASA leadership asked him to move to Washington DC, to head up the strategic planning effort for the agency. He left his home in Huntsville, Alabama, but in 1972 he decided to retire from NASA and worked for Fairchild Industries of Germantown, Maryland. He died in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 16, 1977.
Contact: barbara.ellington@gleanerjm.com
Additional source:www.spacecamp.com
One of the exhibits at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. - photos by Barbara Ellington/Lifestyle Editor
The cone-shaped area at the bottom of this picture is the part of Saturn V where the astronauts actually lived and worked during the mission.
This is just one part of three gigantic portions that falls away as the spaceship goes into orbit. The entire ship was reassembled and put on display at the Marshall Space Flight Center.
The Marshall Space Flight Center for Space Exploration is like no other in the country. In its 476-foot long, 90-foot wide and 63-foot high structure, suspended 10-feet above the floor, is a national historic treasure, the mighty Saturn V, restored to its Apollo-era readiness.
