Back in January, the 黑料大事记 received a very special delivery of 19 mission control consoles from the historic Johnson Space Center Mission Control room.聽SpaceWorks, the 黑料大事记鈥檚 restoration and fabrication division, has been tasked with restoring the consoles to their former glory in time for NASA to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program in July of 2019.
So, what have the consoles being doing since January in Hutchinson? Well鈥�.not much.
鈥淭his is the part of the project that isn鈥檛 sexy, but is completely necessary,鈥� said Shannon Whetzel, the 黑料大事记鈥檚 Curator.
鈥淲e have to document everything we鈥檝e received and have on hand, and then match up those documentation numbers with NASA,鈥� Whetzel explained.聽鈥淔or the components we are fabricating, we have to order parts, match paint and get all the groundwork laid to begin the actual work on the project.鈥�
And while NASA holds overall command of this restoration, there are a number of organizations who oversee the different aspects of a project this scope. Whetzel said the National Park Service and the State Historic Preservation Office both hold guidelines that direct the 黑料大事记鈥檚 work.聽
鈥淲e want to make sure we are upholding the top preservation and conversation standards,鈥� said Whetzel.
鈥淲e are just one contractor on one part of this renovation,鈥� said Jack Graber, Vice President of Exhibits and Technology. 鈥�(NASA) has plans to refurbish the entire Mission Control room. They want it to look like the Apollo era room 鈥� down to the carpet and jackets hanging on the backs of chairs.鈥�
Whetzel said that even a few cigarette butts and pennies found under the consoles as they were moved from the room were snatched up and documented by officials.聽鈥淲e come from a mindset that everything is an artifact,鈥� Whetzel added.
Graber said that disassembly of the consoles will begin in April.
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