Space Geek Heaven

The US Rocket & Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama was well worth the detour. I arrived in Huntsville shortly after dark on Saturday evening and was immediately greeted by steady rain. I was heartbroken. With less than 24 hours in town the weather looked set to spoil my carefully laid plans. However, my spirit lifted as I drove towards town thanks to a most unexpected moment.


The Rocket Museum sits along side the local Interstate Highway. Its location is unmistakable. As you near the site, a majestic Saturn V rocket soars 363 foot into the air, dominating the skyline for miles around. It's easily the tallest structure in town. On Saturday, as I drove through the night nothing could have prepared me for the moment I first saw this floodlit spectacle rise above the horizon. I couldn't help myself and took the first exit off the highway. The rain-soaked image above captures this first encounter, 14 hours after leaving Heathrow. I was in Space Geek heaven.


The following morning dawned bright and clear. My geek weekend was back on track. I reached the Rocket Museum shortly after opening and spent the next five hours exploring every nook and cranny. The Museum has one of the best rocket parks in the world, featuring all the largest manned space rockets ever built; the Saturn V and the Saturn 1B. All of the hardware was space-rated but withdrawn from flight as the Nixon administration slashed budgets to fund the burgeoning Vietnam War.


The Museum even has a fully stacked shuttle; consisting of a test rig it used to develop assembly procedures for subsequent shuttles that were built. The Pathfinder Shuttle as its called has subsequently be retro-fitted with retired shuttle engines from Columbia; the first shuttle launched into orbit. Walking around and under this stack was mind-blowing. The size and scale of this machine is hard to fathom until you actually stand underneath it. This thing is huge! I'm once again filled with awe that it ever reaches space.


Inside the museum are numerous space artifacts including remnants of Skylab recovered from the West Australian desert, the Apollo 16 command module and the Manned Manoeuvring Unit (MMU) once used to fly untethered astronauts around the orbiting shuttle. The ground also boost numerous simulators and full-scale mock-ups used to train astronauts including those used with Skylab and the Apollo missions.


Elsewhere lies flight-ready hardware that never saw service due to budget cuts and mission changes. I saw more than one object whose eventual fate I'd never ascertained until now. You quickly discover that only a small fraction of NASA's budget results in machinery that ever reaches orbit. Another unexpected highlight was a full-size mock-up of Orion, the replacement vehicle for manned flight when the shuttle retires next year. I was surprised to see just how roomy this capsule was compared to those used by the Apollo astronauts.


I could go on for pages but I think you get the message. The museum was pure candy for a space geek like me and boundless blue sky last Sunday was simply icing on the cake.