posted 05-20-2007 09:50 AM               

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Apollo Moonwalker John Young to Appear in Titusville Thursday

Legendary astronaut John Young -- a veteran of NASA's Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs -- will make a public appearance in Titusville this week to mark a major milestone in the construction of a monument to Project Apollo.

Young -- who has been launched into space six times; seven, if you count one launch from the lunar surface -- will join local officials and dignitaries at the city's Space View Park at the corner of Orange Avenue and Indian River Avenue beginning at 10:30 a.m. EST, Thursday, May 24.

"We're very honored to have an American hero join us as we mark the beginning of final assembly of the Apollo monument in the city of Titusville," said Charlie Mars, President of the U.S. Space Walk of Fame Foundation and Space Museum.

A former Navy captain who retired from NASA in 2006, Young flew as pilot of Gemini 3, commander of Gemini 10, command module pilot of Apollo 10 and commander of Apollo 16, STS-1 and STS-7.

Representatives of major aerospace companies and retired employees who worked on the Saturn 5 Moon rocket and other Apollo hardware also will be in attendance.

Based on NASA's official emblem for Project Apollo, the new monument will feature a stainless steel "A" with a bronze Moon and Earth mounted to the cross stroke of the letter. A bronze bust of President John F. Kennedy will be part of the display, as will 12 bronze panels that depict how Apollo carried astronauts to the Moon and back.

Total cost of the project is $500,000, of which about another $150,000 still must be raised by the 501 (c) 3 non-profit, volunteer foundation.

The U. S. Space Walk of Fame Foundation was created by the city of Titusville, Fla., in 1992 to honor space history primarily by placing monuments along the Indian River in plain sight of the historic Apollo and Shuttle launch pads at Kennedy Space Center

Space View Park was created and is maintained by the city of Titusvile, while the monuments are the responsibilit of the Space Walk of Fame.

A monument to Project Mercury was unveiled in 1995, while the main structure for a Project Gemini monument was completed in 1997 and the overall display finished in 2003.

In January 2002 the Foundation began operating a Space Museum, which is now located 4 Main Street in downtown Titusville.

Please note that for Thursday's event no autographs will be available from Mr. Young.

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