Arielle and Jessi in front of the Lunar Rover, inside the museum
Day 7, Saturday, July 26, 2004
Another short night! Between all of the load and unloading, doing the books, keeping up with this journal, and various other errands there just isn’t enough time to sleep, too! Oh, well I could be at work!
We ate breakfast at the Waffle House near our hotel.
Lunar Module and Lunar Excursion Vehicle
This was my first experience with a Waffle House. I decided I liked the food, but I didn’t care for our waitress. Rather than walk around the plastic partition that separated us from the counter area, she both took our orders and pour the coffee from behind it. That struck me as excessively lazy. Then she took three separate cell phone calls, which we could hear just fine and tell there was no emergency at home, before we got our food. But the food was our quickly and allowed us to get on the road by 7:30 AM, which was my goal.
Our primary destination today was Huntsville, AL. We were going to visit the US Space and Rocket Center. From there we would drive to Memphis to spend the night. There wouldn’t be any time on this trip to explore Memphis, but you have to make sacrifices.
The Rocket Garden at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. The big one is a Saturn I.
It should have taken us about 1 ½ hours to get from Nashville to Huntsville, but a wrong turn and a rest break added a half an hour to our journey.
Dad was not going to be up a walking tour of the facility, so I had checked in advance to see if wheelchairs were available. I had wanted to arrive at 9 AM, when they opened to guarantee that we would get one. I didn’t think it would be a concern, but you plan for the worse and hope for the best. Summer is obviously the high time for this place and even just half an hour into their work day all of the customer service people were busy dealing with one issue or another. I waited at the Guest Services counter waiting for someone to appear to help me. I waited and waited and waited. Finally, a guy came over. He grabbed a baby stroller for a couple he was helping, and taking the time to ignore my completely, left without a word. OK, then. I had not failed to notice, that not 5 feet to my right was a wheelchair.
The A-12 Blackbird (brother of the SR-71). It looks fast just standing still!
So, I took it. I figured that if I was violating a policy or procedure the wheelchair police would appear from out of no where, and then be forced to help me. My plan was foiled by their failure to notice my larceny. So I had to console myself in failure with the fact that I had the wheelchair.
There was a lot to keep us busy. We started out inside and toured the museum. If you enjoy the history of the US exploration of space, this is nirvana. They had an Apollo Lunar Module (the part that lands on the moon), a Lunar Excursion Vehicle (car), and a Gemini Command Module. All of displays were nicely done. I pushed Dad around and had a good time too. I remember growing up that Dad had bought a LP (long playing record/vinyl recording for you kids) of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It had various recordings of the conversations between the astronauts of that historic flight and Mission Control in Houston.
A full size model of the Space Shuttle. I'm in the picture. I'm right to the left of the rear front support column. Look! I'm waving!
Inside the building they also had an IMAX theater and we watched movie. As had been her pattern Mom kept falling asleep. This has kind of progressed from being humorous to wondering if she has a real problem. She confessed that she doesn’t seem to sleep well at nights. Regardless we all enjoyed the picture.
The real stats of the US Space & Rocket Center are outside in the Rocket Garden. The garden itself was a little run down. It looked like the infrastructure could use a little TLC and some paint. But the displays themselves were awesome! I think they had every type of rocket used in the space program from the Mercury Redstone to the Saturn V. Which is saying something! The Saturn V (which I believe only 3 remain) is huge! It stands 363 feet tall.
Full size Saturn V replica
That’s longer than a football field, including both end zones. The museum has both a real Saturn V and a full scale replica. The replica is standing up, so you get the full measure of just how tall it is.
On display at the front of the museum is an A-12 Blackbird. The A-12 was the CIA version of the infamous SR-71 Blackbird, the fast plane ever developed. The Blackbirds were developed in the late 1950s and flown until 1999. They were put out of business by the development of spy satellites. But, they certainly don’t look obsolete. The one on display here looked like it was going about Mach 1, just sitting there. There are only about 30 surviving A-12/SR-71s in existence, so I felt pretty fortunate to see one.
The last major thing we saw outside was the replica of the Space Shuttle.
The ride called the Space Shot. It would take you up to the top, and then drops you. Everyone gets to be an astronaut!
They call it Pathfinder, and it is a full scale model of the Space Shuttle. It was used to test equipment and procedures at the Kennedy Space Center. You really have to see these things to appreciate how big they are. I had my picture taken next to it. I’m back by the rear concrete support, waving. You can just make me out.
In addition to all of the space program related stuff, the girls got to enjoy their favorite part of the center, Space Shot. Space Shot is an amusement park ride that shoots the riders straight up, like they are astronauts. Once at the apex of the ride, it bounces you around some and then lands you safely. I said the girls enjoyed this. I, on the other hand, no longer posses “The Right Stuff”, so acted as the official photographer. The girls, and this included Margo, got to ride this about three times in the span of 25 minutes. It just wasn’t very busy, for some reason. My vote was motion sickness, but no one else gave it much thought.
We could have spent the whole day there. We didn’t get to see everything, and then skimmed some of the other stuff. But as we had close to 200 miles yet to drive, dinner to eat, and maybe see some of the Civil War sights in Corinth, MS, we need to get a move on. We left about 2:45 PM. Good time had by all.
A must for anyone interested in space!
The US Space and Rocket Center has something for just about everyone. Obviously if you are interested in the United States space program you will find a thing or two to catch your eye. There is the Rocket Garden with an example of every important rocket and several missiles from the last 50 years. This includes the most important of them all, the rocket that took man to the moon, the Saturn V. Inside the museum there are numerous artifacts from the program. A Lunar Excursion Vehicle (The Lunar Rover), the Apollo 16 Command Module, a Lunar Module (the part that lands on the moon), a moon rock, and on and on.
For those with only a superficial interest in space will still be impressed by the sheer size of not only the Saturn V, but of the Pathfinder. The Pathfinder is a full scale model of the Space Shuttle, with its exterior boosters.
For the kids (not so much smaller kids) there is quite an assortment of rides and simulators. They all have a space theme and the USSRC is constantly adding things to keep the facility fresh and modern. Rides like Space Shot (which sends 12 people rocketing into the sky) and the G-Force Accelerator (experience 3-gs) will keep the teenagers happy.
Smaller kids, under 8 years old, have a special area called the Energy Depletion Zone, where they can play.
In recent years they have added an Apollo Cockpit Simulator (just like what the Apollo astronauts trained in) and the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, which now houses the Saturn V.
Cost is $25 for Adults and $20 for Children. This includes admission, a movie, and the rides. For another $5 you can add a second movie. Hours are 9 to 5, 7 days a week
The Rocket Garden
