Skip to Main Content

The Final Mission: Preserving NASA's Apollo Sites

Online ISBN:
9780813053004
Print ISBN:
9780813062464
Publisher:
University Press of Florida
Book

The Final Mission: Preserving NASA's Apollo Sites

Lisa Westwood,
Lisa Westwood
ECORP Consulting
Find on
Beth Laura O'Leary,
Beth Laura O'Leary
New Mexico State University
Find on
Milford Wayne Donaldson
Milford Wayne Donaldson
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Find on
Published:
7 February 2017
Online ISBN:
9780813053004
Print ISBN:
9780813062464
Publisher:
University Press of Florida

Abstract

Deep within the rugged mountains above Simi Valley and standing tall against the desert landscape of southern New Mexico lie the once-majestic rocket test stands and research facilities that helped send men to the moon for the first time in 1969. Now silent for decades, many of these abandoned structures–and countless space research, astronaut training, and manufacturing facilities that dot the American landscape–lie crumbling in ruins, failing to achieve recognition for their role in the historic Apollo missions. These sites helped refine the Saturn V rocket engines that carried Apollo 11 to the moon, developed the equipment that allowed humans to survive in an oxygen-free environment, and tested the re-entry shields on the command module. The contributions of these sites are no less important than Cape Canaveral and Mission Control and the preservation of them is just as important to archaeology. History remembers Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, but it has long since forgotten the vanishing sites that reflect the historic “culture of Apollo.”

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close