posted 01-10-2012 11:38 AM               

When the city sold the NASA site to Industrial Realty Group in 2003, the contract required IRG to keep the 122-by-78-foot model on its property.

But the City Council on Tuesday will consider taking a $100,000 payment from IRG to take the fake shuttle off the developer’s hands.

The city will get the money if it finds a location for the shuttle by June 1.

posted 06-11-2012 07:33 AM               

A contractor will put up a temporary building to store the historic artifact along Columbia Way near the Columbia Memorial Space Center...

Moving the shuttle and storing it for a year will cost about $157,000, according to a report from the city. Some $100,000 of the cost will come from IRG, and the rest will come from a federal fund named Community Development Block Grant.

The city will also be responsible for upkeep and repairs of the site.

IRG will lease the new space to the city for $1, and it’s giving the Downey two years to find a permanent home for the giant piece of space history.

posted 06-13-2012 08:05 AM               

It's a full-scale mock-up that was built in 1972 by Rockwell International (now Boeing) as part of the original space shuttle Request for Proposals process. When NASA awarded Rockwell the contract, the mock-up was kept on site and became the hands-on model for much of the shuttle's design. Each time a new instrument was built, it was placed into the mostly plastic and wood panels to make sure it would fit properly with the existing structure. Model payloads were fitted in the cargo bay; it even has an aluminum (and non-functioning) Canadarm. The mock-up only has one wing because, of course, two would be redundant for a bird that wasn't flying anywhere.

posted 06-13-2012 07:56 PM               

The orbiter was kept current until 1990, even to the post-Challenger modifications. The city of Downey was given the mockup when NASA left the site in 2000.

posted 06-15-2012 04:55 PM               

On Tuesday, the Downey City Council approved the temporary relocation of the mock-up to a large tent on a nearby movie studio parking lot where, starting late this summer, people may be able to catch a glimpse of it...

The city and the current property owner plan on spending about $157,000 for the mock-up to be moved out of the warehouse and into the tent.

It's a temporary fix — just for a year and a half. This should give the city enough time to raise funding for a permanent home, said Guerra, who noted that the five-person City Council voted unanimously for the move.

They need to act soon. The years of indecision have taken a toll. In 2003, Griswold Conservation Associates, an artifact conservation company, was contracted to produce a technical report of the model's condition, and it found that deterioration was already underway.

"The outer skin of the shuttle, made of plywood on a wooden frame, is buckling slightly and showing signs of internal delamination," the report said. "Clear plastic, prismatic ceiling panels have fine crazing cracks, and are starting to become detached at their fasteners."

Scott K. Pomrehn, executive director of the Columbia Memorial Space Center, estimates that it will take $2 million to properly put it on exhibit.

On Tuesday, the city council agreed to move the mock-up to a temporary shelter in the parking lot of the Columbia Memorial Space Center, which is also owned by the city. (The new commercial development and the space center are on the same former 160-acre Boeing site, so the shuttle won’t be moving far.) They don’t want to take it apart piece-by-piece, as happened in 2003 when it was carefully examined and moved to its current location. But even in two large pieces it’s too big to fit through the door, so the plan is to remove an entire wall of the room to pull it out. With $100,000 from the developer and an additional $70,000 from the city, the center plans to erect fencing and a large tent for it, and hopes to allow visitors in to see it within the next couple of months, according to the center’s Executive Director, Scott Pomrehn.

posted 06-25-2012 07:31 AM               

Original 1972 space shuttle mockup going on display

Before Columbia launched on the first space shuttle mission over 30 years ago, before Star Trek fans campaigned to rename the prototype shuttle after the Starship Enterprise and even before the last of the Apollo astronauts left their bootprints on the moon, there was a full-size space shuttle in Downey, California.

That mockup, largely overlooked until recently, still exists and is about to go on public display near where it was first built in 1972.

posted 07-08-2012 12:34 AM               

The city is throwing a party to celebrate the move with entertainment and activities for children.

The public is invited to see the move. The first section should arrive in the tent area around 11 a.m., and the city is holding a special ceremony at noon.

posted 07-10-2012 03:35 PM               

Original Space Shuttle Mock-Up to be on Display July 12th

The much anticipated move of the original full-size Space Shuttle Mock-Up is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 12, 2012. Built in 1972 by Rockwell International, the 122-foot-by-78-foot Shuttle will be moved from its current warehouse location to the Downey Studios parking lot where it will be housed under a temporary tent for public viewing. The City will host a special event during the day to celebrate the relocation of the Shuttle. The event will take place at the Downey Studios parking lot, 12214 Lakewood Boulevard, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and will feature entertainment, interactive activities for children, and a special ceremony at 12 noon. The public is invited to attend and view the actual move of the Shuttle as it is transported to its new location. The first section of the Shuttle is scheduled to arrive in the parking lot at approximately 11 a.m. A designated area will be sectioned off for the public to view the move of the Shuttle from a safe distance. Parking will be available around the neighboring area, including along Columbia Way and Steve Horn Way.

As the engineering birthplace of both the Apollo Program and the Space Shuttle, the former NASA/Downey site played a vital role in the evolution of space flight and exploration. The Space Shuttle Mock-up is owned by the City of Downey and has the distinction of not only being the first full-size Space Shuttle ever built, but it was used for two decades for detailed engineering fittings and testing.

"We are excited to have this historic shuttle on display here in Downey. Our City is proud to have such a rich Aerospace history and we hope that this is the first of several steps to getting a permanent home for our Mock-Up," said Mayor Roger Brossmer.

The full scale Mock-up has remained in storage for decades and the City hopes to preserve and restore the Shuttle by building a permanent facility for the model, which is expected to cost approximately $2 million. The Shuttle will remain under a temporary tent until the City has the funds necessary to construct a permanent building to house the Shuttle. The City hopes that with the help of sponsorships, it will be able to raise funds.

The new Shuttle building would be adjacent to the Columbia Memorial Space Center, the City's own hands-on learning center dedicated to teaching children about science and space exploration.

"Having this exciting Shuttle Mock-Up attraction next to the Columbia Memorial Space Center will not only help further the Space Center's educational programs, but it will provide visitors with a unique experience that will help engage and inspire the next generation of explorers," added Mayor Roger Brossmer.

posted 07-11-2012 04:58 PM               

Here are some photos that I took early this morning at the old Downey plant of the tent being erected where the DEI Room mockup will be displayed while the Columbia Science Center and City of Downey raise the money for its permanent display pavilion.

I have also included a picture of the hole they cut in the side of Building 1 to extract the mockup.

posted 07-12-2012 06:30 PM               

Original 1972 space shuttle mockup moved outdoors for Downey, CA display

The original full-scale mockup of the space shuttle, which hasn't seen the light of day since the early 1970s, emerged from a warehouse into the California sun on Thursday (July 12) to be put on outdoor display.

The full-size wood and plastic model was transported on a flatbed truck the short distance from the building where it for decades served as a design and demonstration tool to an open-ended tent that was erected in a parking lot near the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, Calif.

posted 07-13-2012 02:08 AM               

Now our job really begins — we need to raise $5 million to build the building to house it. This will include a facility to honor the Apollo crews, especially Apollo 1. We want to tell the stories of what happened and how we recovered to go to the Moon.

posted 07-14-2012 02:27 PM               

I think the display pavilion needs to get built as quickly as possible. Time has clearly not been kind to this artifact (a friend of mine noted that the mockup appears to have the same amount of wear-and-tear as one of the reentry-scarred flightworthy orbiters). It also looks a bit odd under the tent with the vertical stabilizer and one wing missing (something that was less obvious in the DEI room because the ceiling and back wall created a very natural reason for those pieces to be missing).

posted 08-29-2012 05:35 PM               

Shuttle Naming Contest

Be a part of Downey's history by helping to name the City's very own Space Shuttle Mock-Up, currently on display at Downey Studios, 12214 Lakewood Blvd.

The Space Shuttle Mock-up is owned by the City of Downey and has the distinction of not only being the first full-size Space Shuttle ever built, but it was used for two decades for detailed engineering fittings and testing. The full scale Mock-up has remained in storage for decades and the City hopes to preserve and restore the Shuttle by building a permanent facility for the model. The new Shuttle building would be adjacent to the Columbia Memorial Space Center, the City's own hands-on learning center dedicated to teaching children about science and space exploration. History is in the making so be a part of this amazing time in the City of Downey by submitting a potential name for this historic Shuttle.

Contest rules

• Open to city residents, students, business owners, former site workers, and people that work in Downey (except City of Downey employees and their immediate family, appointed boards, and Commissioners)

• Shuttle shall not be named after a service organization or business

• Limit of one name per entry form. Limit one entry per person

• Deadline for entries is August 31, 2012. All entry forms must be postmarked on or before August 31, 2012

• Entry forms must be filled out completely. Please type or print legibly

• Submit entry forms by mail to the City of Downey, Shuttle Naming Contest, P.O. Box 7016, Downey, CA 90241-7016, by email at shuttle@downeyca.org, by FAX to (562) 923-6388, or in person at Downey City Hall – 3rd Floor Counter, 11111 Brookshire Avenue, Downey, CA 90241

• If two or more entry forms are received with the same proposed name, the first entry form received will be considered

• City Staff will review and forward their top three (3) recommendations to the City Council

• The City Council will review the entry forms, may make additions and will approve the final selection

• The winner will be recognized at a City Council Meeting and invited to the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony as a special guest of the City Council.

posted 02-17-2014 01:17 PM               

Inspiration is a full-scale space shuttle mock-up — largely made of wood and plastic — that Rockwell built in 1972 to show what it would look like before the program was approved.

In recent decades, the 122-by-78-foot model remained hidden away at the former manufacturing site. The mock-up is on display a few hundred feet from the museum but will soon be moved into storage again because of a lack of funds.

In 2012, the city estimated it would cost $2 million to properly exhibit the mock shuttle, more than 21/2 times the entire budget for the museum in 2013.

posted 02-21-2014 01:26 PM               

I have been on a board of advisors to the city during my illness — but there has been only a couple meetings in the last year! My calls to the city fathers have not been returned. I really wish I could have done more.

posted 09-25-2024 10:25 AM               

...the Inspiration will make a meticulous two-day move spanning three city blocks on Oct. 17 and 18, according to the city and Space Center. The disassembled mock-up will be moved in seven large pieces aboard specialized moving equipment for the journey.

The trip will carry the pieces out of city storage and into a building where specialists will restore Inspiration and prepare it for its ultimate move into the new exhibit space.

Space Center officials said the public will be invited to line the streets as the historic shuttle mock-up makes its move. The exact timing and route are expected to be announced soon.

posted 09-27-2024 10:50 AM               

Original full-size space shuttle mockup to be restored for Downey display

A full-size mockup of the space shuttle orbiter that was built as a contractor's showcase model before NASA decided on the spacecraft's final design is heading back on display after more than 25 years in storage.

For the past decade, the City of Downey in California has worked on plans to exhibit the North American Rockwell model after rediscovering its existence in 2012. Nine years later, state lawmakers approved $800,000 to restore the plywood and plastic shuttle ahead of its display at the city's Columbia Memorial Space Center in Discovery Park.

posted 10-17-2024 01:30 PM               

Full-size mock space shuttle makes first move towards Downey display

The parts for a full-size space shuttle mockup are now about a city block closer to being reassembled and restored for public display.

The City of Downey in California began relocating the winged orbiter "Inspiration" from a maintenance yard — where it has sat in pieces for more than a decade — to a nearby facility on Thursday (Oct. 17). The move, which attracted a crowd of spectators, is the first step towards exhibiting the model at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in the years to come.