HOUSTON – The NASA mission control consoles that were used for the first moon landings will be brought back to life by a Kansas museum that restored the Apollo 13 spacecraft and conserved the recovered rocket engines that launched Apollo 11.
When it is finished, what will the historic mission control look like?
The mission control that was used for the Gemini, Apollo and the space shuttle launches into the 1990s will look like it did when Americans landed on the moon nearly 50 years ago on July 20, 1969. The consoles are being packed up now and will be carried to Kansas for restoration work.
Who will make sure everything is historically accurate?
Adam Graves of Ft. Worth, is the historical preservation technical lead. "I'm keeping an eye to make sure everyone is doing everything historically accurate," he said. He said he wants visitors to understand the historical significance when they walk in the door. "I know when I walk in the door, I feel special. I feel like something very important happened here. I don't want to touch anything. I don't feel worthy," he said.
Who is paying for the project?
Space Center Houston has raised $4 million of the needed $5 million dollars for the project. "This space has fallen into some disrepair over the years. It is one of the most popular attractions when people visit Space Center Houston and we take them behind the center here at JSC,” said William Harris, the CEO of Space Center Houston. He said, "Our goal is to restore this space back to its original glory of the Apollo program.” Space Center Houston said the City of Webster was a huge help giving $3.5 million dollars from its hotel occupancy tax fund.
When will the restoration be complete?
The plan is to complete the restoration by July of 2019 in time for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. "Putting this back together the way it was at that moment is of utmost historical importance. So that we, today, can really understand how that felt in the moment," he said.
Workers at #JSC move consoles from the historic mission control. See why on KPRC2 / Click2Houston at 5
Posted by KPRC2 Ryan Korsgard on Thursday, January 25, 2018