posted February 01, 2011 03:58 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by MrSpace86:
Hopefully none of the debris is corroded since they did retrieve them from the ocean and then stored.

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The debris "stored" in the missile silo probably has significant corrosion. If nothing was done to preserve the materials after they were recovered from the ocean, the damage from the saltwater immersion (no matter how brief) can be significant.

posted February 01, 2011 05:48 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by moorouge:
Do you mean "brave" as defined by Sir Humphrey Appleby?

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In my opinion, not displaying at least small, modest artifacts from Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia does the memories of the brave crews a disservice.

posted February 02, 2011 06:08 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by moorouge:
Do you mean "brave" as defined by Sir Humphrey Appleby?

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How do we remember, in essence, a public tragedy like the three that befell the US space program? If it's simply to 'memoralize' the lives lost, then certainly that has been done many times, with statues, school names (one city school here on Staten Island bears the name Columbia), plaques, etc. But in order to truly understand and appreciate an historical event-tragedy or triumph-then nothing can replace an actual artifact/document involved in that event.

In the related thread on the Grissom Memorial Museum, examples were cited for current objects on display that perhaps are deemed 'sensitive' or disrespectful due to their history: the B-29 'Enola Gay' for one, and the aforementioned Kennedy limousine. When balancing what should go on display and what not to put behind glass, shouldn't curators also take into consideration FUTURE generations learning from that particular exhibit? The USS Arizona will eventually corrode into a pile of dust, and no video or scale model can replace the visceral reaction to seeing one of America's (if not the world's) tragic days.

posted February 06, 2011 09:40 PM               

The flag belongs to Boy Scout Troop 514 of Monument, which loans it to troops and organizations for special events. The troop has also carried it in parades...

Troop 514's flag was part of the official flight kit that survived the doomed liftoff of Challenger in January 1986.

Sending the flag on the shuttle was the idea of retired Air Force Maj. Bill Tolbert, then scoutmaster of the Monument troop. The flag was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean and presented to Troop 514 in December 1986 by an astronaut who had flown on earlier Challenger missions.

The flag previously had flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and was given to the scouts by former Rep. Ken Kramer, R-Colo.

In 1987, Warren Berger, former chief justice of the United States and president of the Bicentennial Commission, designated the flag "the official flag of the bicentennial of the Constitution." The Challenger flag also was displayed in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympic games.