Columbia Memorial Space Center

The Columbia Memorial Space Center
Established 2009 (2009)
Location Downey, California
Coordinates 33°55′11″N 118°08′01″W / 33.91984°N 118.13362°W / 33.91984; -118.13362Coordinates: 33°55′11″N 118°08′01″W / 33.91984°N 118.13362°W / 33.91984; -118.13362
Type Science Museum
Key holdings Space Shuttle Inspiration
Visitors 30,000 (in 2013)[1]
Website Official website

The Columbia Memorial Space Center (CMSC) is a science museum owned and operated by the City of Downey, California. Located on 12400 Columbia Way in Downey, it is open to the general public as hands-on space museum and activity center in the Los Angeles area.[2]

Mission

The center's mission is to "ignite people's passion in science, technology, engineering, and space while honoring Downey's aerospace history."[2]

History

The site of the museum is the former Boeing/Rockwell/North American plant where all of the Apollo Command/Service Modules were built and the Space Shuttle was conceived. In 1999, when the Downey Plant closed, the City of Downey began a redevelopment effort, including an educational component. In early 2007, a builder — Tower General Contractors — was selected, and ground was broken on April 12, 2007, on the 18,000 square foot project.[3]

STS-107 mission insignia

First opened in 2008, CMSC is recognized as the National Memorial to the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew that was lost on STS-107.[4][5]

On November 7, 2008, a propane tank exploded during the filming of an episode of the television series, Bones. An electrical fire occurred, but resulted in no damage to the museum.[6]

Exhibits

Designated a Challenger Learning Center,[7] the museum has a variety of camps, workshops, and other monthly events to generate interest in STEM in addition to hands on exhibits. Now 20,000 square feet, the two-story building features a robotics lab, HD computer lab, and a wide range of interactive exhibits that provide engaging insights into Space Shuttle operations, living and working on the International Space Station, exploration of our solar system, aerospace engineering, and the range of fields of study and jobs related to human and robotic space exploration.[2]

In 2012, a dummy "boilerplate" Apollo command capsule, BP-19A, was restored by the Kansas Cosmosphere and put on display at the center.[8] It joined BP-12, the first Apollo capsule to fly[9] and now owned by the City of Downey, on display.[10]

Also in 2012, the first "Space Shuttle" – a wood and plastic full-scale mockup built by North American Rockwell in 1972 – was placed on temporary display at the center.[11] Dubbed the "Space Shuttle Inspiration", it was disassembled and returned to storage in early 2014.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Barragan, James (February 14, 2014). "Downey space museum is struggling to survive". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Columbia Memorial Space Center". City of Downey. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Topic: Columbia Memorial Space Center, Downey, Calif.". collectSPACE. February 1, 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  4. ↑ Linthicum, Kate (November 28, 2008). "Downey tries to reclaim space history". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Public Law 108-391" (PDF). U.S. Government Publishing Office. October 30, 2004. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ Stelter, Brian (November 7, 2008). "Fire Reported on Set of 'Bones'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Where We Are". Challenger Center. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Restored Apollo drop-test capsule to land at learning center". CollectSPACE. March 6, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Unmanned Mission A-001". Kennedy Space Center. NASA. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  10. ↑ Gerard, James H. (October 20, 2007). "BP-12". Field Guide to American Spacecraft. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ Goss, Heather (June 14, 2012). "Downey Will Display Shuttle Mock-Up". AirSpaceMag.com. Daily Planet. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  12. ↑ Brown, Christian (March 6, 2014). "Downey's space shuttle goes back in storage". The Downey Patriot. 12 (47). Retrieved April 15, 2014.
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