posted January 27, 2007 08:20 AM               

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Space workers need to touch the wreckage of Apollo-204 and the lost shuttles, not have the fragments stashed away underground, out of sight and mind. They need pieces on display — and more, open to physical contact — where they do their death-defying work. They need images, not of the astronauts, but of their parents, spouses and children left behind. They need high-fidelity replays of the horrifying deaths of their friends and colleagues, and no-holds-barred confrontations with the decisions made by individuals that paved the path to ultimate catastrophe.

They need the consequent inescapable ache of fear and the gnawing of doubt that keeps asking, over and over, if they've covered all angles and done all they can. And if their stomachs do not knot up, and mouths go dry, as they confront such decisions — perhaps they need new jobs.

They do not need comforting myths about "valuable sacrifices" and "space-is-very-very-hard" rationalizations for the failures of individuals and teams. And most of all, they do not need more human sacrifices to remind them of things they knew, but somehow allowed themselves to forget.

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And from our interview with Stephen Clemmons:

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I feel that [Apollo 1] should be displayed at Kennedy Space Center in a special section apart from the astronaut memorial and not on Pad 34 as a reminder to America that it must never happen again.

The story of Apollo 1 should be told over and over again because its not just about three men who were killed, but it is more about the conditions that created the fire. We must always be reminded that it can happen again. Men and women who go to space deserve the best and nothing must be left to chance. This display would tell the world that there is danger in all aspects of rocketry.

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posted January 29, 2007 08:53 AM               

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The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC has always had a dual mission of both memorializing and educating. There is a natural tension between these two missions—should the museum simply put an aircraft up on a pedestal and praise it, or should the aircraft be placed in a larger exhibit that explains the context that it was used in?

The museum is filled with the icons of American spaceflight: Friendship 7, the Apollo 11 capsule, the X-15, SpaceShipOne. Perhaps it is time that it include examples of the failures of American spaceflight too—wreckage from the Apollo 1, Challenger, and yes, even Columbia. After the Challenger accident, NASA buried the wreckage in a missile silo, as if it was hiding its mistake. The agency took a different approach with Columbia, using the debris in a forensics training program to teach others how to perform accident analysis. The agency has changed its approach to how it responds to these accidents, and maybe it is time for American society to change its approach as well.

Context for such an exhibit would be important—what is needed is not a memorial, but a tutorial. Rather than simply displaying the wreckage, the museum could display the wreckage in the context of the investigations themselves. Show the tagged and numbered portions of the Apollo 1 capsule. Show the enhanced launch photos of Columbia with the telltale smoke emerging from the side of the solid rocket booster. And show the sensor data recorder from Columbia that was recovered from the Texas mud and proved so important in reconstructing the final moments of Columbia’s reentry.

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posted January 29, 2007 10:30 AM               

If no one else the workers need to see those and be reminded what is at stake. It is too easy to become complacent after a string of successes. A blackened door on display would be very humbling.

posted February 18, 2007 09:30 AM               

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Originally posted by stsmithva:
After reading those excerpts I agree that for both educational and sentimental reasons there should be exhibits (at NASM and/or KSC) about Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia. People would be taught technical details of how those disasters occurred and what steps were taken to prevent similar ones, and also get a sense of the sacrifices that have taken place and the challenges that still lie ahead.

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posted February 21, 2007 07:24 AM               

While I certainly can appreciate your opinion, I have to side with GACspaceguy. I believe that a public display can be created in a respectful way.

I attended the walk through at the hangar at the KSC landing strip when the Columbia debris was laid out. There were hundreds of people there and it was very hushed tones and solemn like going to a viewing at a funeral home. At one point we passed by the cockpit window frames. Someone had laid a flower at the base of them. It was an incredibly moving experience. It gave the men and women who had prepared the vehicle a chance to say "goodbye."

So I truly believe that a display explaining what happened and what was learned from it would be a good thing. To ensure that it remains respectful don't allow cameras - and don't sell replicas of the damaged vehicles at the gift shop.

posted February 22, 2007 12:39 PM               

Without doubt, I think that some of the artifacts of all 3 tragedies should be on display, both at NASA for the employees, and somewhere else for the public. (Smithsonian?). One can easily come up with a dignified, respectful tribute, where people viewing it can come to understand what happened. After all, these were very public tragedies, especially the shuttle accidents that so many saw happen in person on and on television.

You cannot forget what happpened, if you do then you are doomed to become complacent, and doomed to repeat it.

Everyone who works at NASA, from the top down needs to, on a daily basis, be reminded that this is not an eleavator ride, that human space flight is a big deal, and that human lives are involved.

For some reason , as I type this, 9/11 comes to mind. I don't know why, maybe thinking about tragedies brings this to mind. I know that one cannot compare NASA tragedies to the scope of what happend on 9/11, but I guarantee you that there will be a lasting, dignified tribute to all those lives lost on 9/11. NASA needs to do the same thing. Sweeping them under the rug, in an abandoned silo helps nobody.

Where there is a loss, there is a lesson. Everyone who has even a casual interest in human space flight needs to also see what can happen when that "one small step" stumbles. Let each take away their own memories and impressions, but for the sake of those lost, let the stories be told both in print and visually.

My two cents.....don't spend it all in one place.

posted February 22, 2008 07:47 PM               

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A new exhibit aimed at promoting the importance of safety to NASA employees is using debris recovered from the loss of space shuttle Columbia to underscore its message.

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• Flight Deck Port Aft Bulkhead Window
  
• Orbiter Lower Left Wing Thermal Protection System Tile
  
• Orbiter Translational Hand Controller
  
• Flight Deck Overhead Switch Panel O17
  
• Left Wing Reinforced Carbon Carbon Panel 8
  
• Crew Module Side Hatch Pyro Initiator T Handle
  
• Left Orbiter Maneuvering System Pod Fuel Drain Purge Panel
  
• Forward Reaction Control System Thruster
  
• Left Wing Tip Thermal Protection System Tile

posted February 25, 2008 12:28 PM            

And yet it's much more than a "We've gone 1,851 days without a fatal accident!" sign. This doesn't allow the tragedy to be obfuscated by the mists of bureaucracy, nor does it sensationalize the events.

To me, it simply says "This really happened."

And really, looking at the window frames, RCC panel, and data recorder, that's all that needs to be said. Waxing poetic and building monuments serve our human need for ceremony, but reality demands changes in our actions.

posted March 13, 2008 09:58 PM               

The first time I saw anything flown from the Challenger accident was at the National Air and Space Museum with their beautiful flag/patch plaque.

Robert's recent "world-wide" Explorer 1 gantry fragment story got my mind wondering about how many similar Challenger memorial presentations are out there in museums.

It is safe to assume that no "official" public count of surviving flags and patches exist, so that is a moot point. But, how many flag and patch plaques are in museums for the public to see?

As this post details above, nothing from Challenger herself is not currently on display anywhere, so these flags and patches are really the only artifacts that flew on that particular vehicle that we can see up-close and in-person. In fact, the mission patch itself at the C.O.A. museum is not under any protective glass so it can actually be touched. I took that moment to respectfully say a few words to the crew of both shuttle disasters.

I believe, at least one other Challenger flag/patch plaque exists at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, but I have never seen a photo of it if anyone would like to share one.

To those not in Dallas, Long Island, or Washington D.C., do other plaques exist in your neck of the woods? If so, post your photos here. It would be a nice tribute.

posted March 13, 2008 10:47 PM               

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Originally posted by 4allmankind:
I believe, at least one other Challenger flag/patch plaque exists at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, but I have never seen a photo of it if anyone would like to share one.

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And via the National Air and Space Museum, a photo of their Challenger plaque:

posted March 14, 2008 01:29 PM               

Jay

posted March 15, 2008 12:03 PM               

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Originally posted by 4allmankind:
That flag in Dallas appears to be a bit larger than the standard USA’s typically flown on the shuttle, huh?

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posted March 26, 2008 12:45 PM            

There have been some comments that I would like some enlightenment from the readers. Would anyone refrain from visiting a space education center if artifacts from the accident(s) are on display? Would NASA support tasteful and respectful displays?

What do the readers think about that?

posted March 27, 2008 03:35 PM            

When the Columbia Space Center opens, it will embrace the memories of ALL the spacecraft that were built here, and whose crews have lost their lives and it is our intent to honor their lives.

posted April 29, 2008 12:00 AM               

I must say that in this venue, the government agency certainly got it right. The wreckage is not there for sightseeing tourists, although anyone in the aviation field who attends a class at the academy has access to it. No photography is allowed, but no photo could capture the enormity of the destruction. Family members still visit it occasionally and have left flowers in the passenger cabin area.

The aircraft serves the purpose of training aviation safety professionals the science of accident investigation, but also teaches them why they do what they do. Seeing this shattered widebody up close is an emotional experience for some, and humbling to all.

It seems that NASA has done the same thing with Columbia...provided viewing access for those workers who they intend for it to influence. Having seen TWA, I am not sure how I would feel about it being on public display, say, in the Smithsonian. The general public would not see the structure the same way an engineer or pilot would, and much of its' significance would be lost.