posted 10-14-2000 04:15 PM               

1. It should be reassembled and displayed as closely as possible to how it looked immediately after the fire. That's to say scorch marks and all but hatch closed.

2. Then it should be in its own room with appropriate quotes from both the deceased astronauts and others who had relevant thoughts concerning this fatal mission and exploration in general on the walls surrounding it. No photos on the walls just words.

3. The capsule and the walls should be lit as softly as possible, using just enough lighting to see the spacecraft and the quotes on the walls. This way the visitors would be in shadow so they wouldn't intrude on this memorial, leaving each to his/her own thoughts.

4. No photography allowed.

5. Absolutely no talking allowed in the memorial... much like a chapel. Possibly an honor guard like at the tombs of the Unknown Soldiers. A thick carpet to muffle every footstep of the guests. It should be so quiet that it almost "hurts" the ear.

6. The display/memorial would be a place to silently contemplate the risks of exploration in general and spaceflight in particular.

7. A possible name would be "The Sanctuary for Fallen Astronauts".

posted 10-15-2000 12:27 AM               

The point of displaying the Apollo 1 CM, at least in my opinion, would not be to offer a shrine for the crew (they already have one, at their respective graves) but to emphasize the danger of spaceflight AND the steps taken to prevent that danger from becoming prohibitive to exploration.

I think a shrine would focus the public's attention on damning NASA for sacrificing the lives of Grissom, White and Chaffee. I don't think the crew would have wanted that.

No, a display of the Apollo 1 CM should emphasize and teach how we learn from our mistakes and continue to strive for the seemingly unreachable despite the dangers.

If I were in charge of the display, I would place the capsule side-by-side with one that had flown to the Moon. I would use the surrounding walls to illustrate what was changed, what we learned, and why the three astronauts' lives were not completely lost in vain.

I would be sure to encourage discussion, self-exploration, and if it helps people better take the message to others photography and filming.

And I would frame the entire display with a quote from Grissom:

posted 10-15-2000 01:07 AM               

I think a significant portion of those against displaying it might agree to a respectful memorial incorporating the capsule, but NOT in any other venue.

posted 10-15-2000 08:38 AM               

I think your good intentions would be lost with the general public, and maybe even more importantly with some politicians. In my mind, it's more important to celebrate the wins while fully understand the risks involved with any pursuit of this magnitude - and I believe that this can be done without actually displaying the capsule where they met their end.

And the suggestion of displaying the remnants of the shuttle... what's next, Elliot See and Charlie Bassett's wreck?

posted 10-15-2000 09:14 AM               

This is why visitors (tourists) are allowed into Auschwitz and why we have Holocaust museums worldwide.

While I do not mean to directly compare the Holocaust to the Apollo 1 fire, I think the two share a common lesson.

If we forget sacrifices have been made, we are more quick to make the same mistakes.

Taking another lesson from the Holocaust, it is not enough to simply write about what happened. For a large segment of the population, the message must be conveyed visually.

posted 10-15-2000 12:13 PM               

Some people will sense an emotional link to the spacecraft when they see it. Others may want to view it strictly as an objective study of a historic event. Others may be simply curious. My question is, who has the right to dictate what your motives are in order to view an artifact like this?

posted 10-15-2000 12:47 PM               

It should be treated with respect, much like the Apollo 1 pad is, but it should have an emphasis on the future and what we learned from the accident.

Pictures could go either way. You do have to take into consideration that three great men were killed in that capsule for their Country. Maybe behind the capsule have a small flag at half mast to emphasize the danger of space flight.

posted 10-15-2000 02:01 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
For a large segment of the population, the message must be conveyed visually.

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posted 10-15-2000 09:40 PM               

As most of you know, Blanche and Donald Chaffee are no longer with us but I think of them daily. They were fine people and good friends and I miss them very much. Therefore, in view of their friendship I am relaying their thoughts as expressed directly to me before their passing. I owe their memory that much.

Roger's Mother and Dad were both very much opposed to the Apollo 1 spacecraft ever being put on public display. The loss of their son Roger tore at their hearts for the rest of their lives.

posted 10-15-2000 11:07 PM               

However, and with absolutely no disrespect intended, this entire discussion has been based on whether the capsule is considered a shrine or simply another significant piece of space equipment necessary to telling the entire story of America's conquest of the Moon.

If the former is true -- that the CM would act as a shrine to the crew -- than I feel the families desires should be paramount.

If however, the latter is true and the spacecraft's display is weighed by the same consideration given to other space artifacts, then I do not know how much the families' wishes should be used in making such a decision.

posted 10-17-2000 05:55 PM               

Florida might also be a place to build one. But due to the wishes of the families of Grissom, White and Chaffe it would be in best interest not to put a memorial in the vicinity or on the grounds of Pad 34 itself.

Texas and Alabama, which both have NASA complexes, could be future sites.

Going back though history, one also should consider Kittyhawk, North Carolina as a possible site as well, considering the Space Program might never have been if not for Orville and Wilbur Wright.

posted 10-17-2000 08:20 PM               

I think if you asked someone off the street what the Space Mirror is they would probably have no idea or knowledge that such a memorial exists. On the other hand, ask that same person what the Vietnam memorial is and they will have at least a general idea.

posted 10-17-2000 10:27 PM               

I personally do not think a memorial's popularity should be a measure of its importance. As an example, the nation felt it important to create a memorial to the astronauts (the Space Mirror) before creating one to honor the fallen from WWII. Certainly WWII affected more people and any such memorial would be exponentially more "popular" than the Space Mirror. Yet, it does not yet exist.