While researching things to do in Florida, I discovered a museum
dedicated to the Russian space program.
My heart beat faster: we would be staying in St. Pete Beach, on the
outskirts of St. Petersburg. We could go
there! Then came the crushing
realization that the museum was located in St. Petersburg, Russia, not St.
Petersburg, Florida.
While I’m fascinated, amazed, and proud of all of America’s
accomplishments in space, I’m also fascinated by the Russian efforts. Their country sent men into space before we
did. In response to their efforts, America switched over from the Air
Force space plane programs (such as the X-1, X-2, and X-15) to NASA’s space
capsules for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Then we discarded the capsule concept--in
part because we always splashed down in the middle of the ocean, which
necessitated huge sea-going recovery efforts--and reverted to the space plane
idea for the Space Shuttle program. Now
we’ve discarded the space plane concept, and are reverting to the space capsule
for Project Orion. Meanwhile, the
Russians have operated space capsules continuously since Yuri Gagarin became
the first man in space. Unlike ours, their capsules
can actually land, which saves on Naval recovery efforts. And while America built Skylab (and then let
it burn up in the atmosphere), the Russians operated space stations
continuously from the early 1970s, until the construction of the International
Space Station.
While experimentation is good, every time America decides to
retool our equipment and operations necessitates a break in our space
program. While we’re doing this
rebuilding and redirecting process again, our astronauts are hitching rides up
to the ISS in Russian capsules, which according to officials at Kennedy Space
Center costs us over sixty million dollars per astronaut. Meanwhile, the Russians have persisted with the concepts and
programs that worked for them, and thereby saved themselves long breaks and
costly retooling efforts.
At any rate, my Internet search bore fruit when I discovered
The U. S. Space Walk of Fame Museum. Operated
by volunteers in a modest office building in Titusville, Florida, it houses a
wealth of information, equipment, and paraphernalia covering the American space
program. There’s a simulated control
room where children (of all ages) can get an idea of all the equipment and
duties associated with a rocket launch.
There are displays of the rockets that launched Mercury, Gemini, and
Apollo. A visitor can page through
booklets, see spacesuits, posters, models, and collectible memorabilia. I cannot even begin to describe everything packed
into the tiny building. On the morning
my wife and I visited, we had the museum to ourselves. Thus we had time to page through the photo
albums, reports and manuals, and photograph the displays for future
perusal.
Believe it or not, there’s even a small area dedicated to
the Russian space program!
The U. S. Space Walk of Fame Museum may not be the
high-gloss production of Kennedy Space Center, but if you’re interested in
seeing a wealth of informative and fun displays in a low-key atmosphere, be
sure to check it out. Not only is it
less expensive than a day at Kennedy Space Center (although that’s a fun place
too), it’ll save you thousands of dollars on a trip to Russia.
Dragon Dave
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