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[i]The process will begin, NASA said in an email to AL.com, with the grounding of the rocket at the under-renovation southbound welcome center on I-65 near the Tennessee state line. That process will be the responsibility of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, to whom the rocket is on loan from NASA. That process does not figure to be simple. The rocket, in fragile condition, stands 168 feet tall with a diameter of 22 feet. While it has cut an imposing figure on the north Alabama landscape since the 1970s, it will be a task to safely bring it down and require a clearing of land to make room for it. That process is already underway with ALDOT's renovation at the welcome center that has included the recent razing of the welcome center building at the rest stop. Once the rocket is on the ground, NASA takes over. "The USSRC will take the rocket down at the welcome center," the NASA email said. "NASA will then deconstruct it into small pieces for safe removal from the site and the metal will be reutilized. It will not go to a landfill. The rocket is beyond repair and restoration. Efforts going forward will focus on future plans for the rest stop, which will be led by state leadership." NASA did not elaborate on how the metal will be reutilized. There have also been inquiries into taking ownership of the rocket, including by the small Ohio town of New Concord – the hometown of legendary astronaut and former U.S. Sen. John Glenn. A museum at the former home of Glenn and his wife, Annie, would be the new home of the rocket as envisioned by town officials. NASA officials indicated the poor condition of the rocket makes shifting ownership essentially a moot point.[/i]
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