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Author
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Topic: Mercury Mission Control (Cape Canaveral)
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Buel
Member Posts: 653
From: UK
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 10-29-2013 06:20 AM
   
Please can anyone point me towards any sites that contain good pictures or video of the early Mercury Control Centre? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43374
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-29-2013 06:23 AM
The January 2010 NASA EDGE vodcast (video podcast) profiles the Mercury Mission Control Center — showing both the interior of the original building and its restored contents. Highlighting the historic and groundbreaking achievements during the Mercury program, NASA EDGE visits the original Mercury Mission Control Center and the newly restored Mercury Mission Control Center exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Program Design Specialist Luis Berrios talks about the many technical details that went into restoring this historic facility while trying to keep the Co-Host from playing flight director. Our own photo gallery documenting the demolition of the Mercury Control Center building also included a few archival photos from inside (scroll to the bottom). |
Buel
Member Posts: 653
From: UK
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 10-29-2013 07:44 AM
The pictures of Mercury Control being demolished are incredibly sad.It is very difficult (almost impossible) to understand that such a historical site was not able to be preserved. |
Fra Mauro
Member Posts: 1599
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 10-29-2013 08:53 AM
It all comes down to money and they value that is placed on the building. NASA is struggling to keep things moving, and Congress won't provide the funding. Perhaps there should have been a request for donations but at least some of the equipment was preserved. |
cycleroadie
Member Posts: 452
From: Apalachin, NY USA
Registered: May 2011
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posted 10-29-2013 10:15 AM
Where is this exhibit? Out on the "Then and Now" tour? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43374
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 10-29-2013 10:18 AM
The Mercury Control Center exhibit is on the main campus of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. With the new entrance to the complex, it is the first building you encounter, adjacent to the Rocket Garden. |
Rocketman!
Member Posts: 121
From: Redmond, Washington, USA
Registered: Dec 2007
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posted 10-29-2013 04:25 PM
Does anyone know what happened to the red Mercury capsule tracking icon that appears at 5:06 in the NASA EDGE vodcast video posted above? I seem to recall that it was featured in a Smithsonian book of space artifacts some years ago.The black one they have in the restored exhibit spoils the look for me. It is as if they cut one of those large scale G.I. Joe capsules in half and used it for the exhibit instead of the real thing (or even an authentic looking recreation). Anyone else think it looks out of place? |
Buel
Member Posts: 653
From: UK
Registered: Mar 2012
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posted 11-04-2013 04:41 PM
Well, after watching the video and looking at the images in the gallery I am left with a feeling of incredible sadness that Mercury Control is no more.I know there will be some who say that it still survives in one sense as everything has been restored and moved, but it's not the same really. I have heard that there was a debate whether it would have been worth the millions to restore it and keep it where it was and I'm sure there were good arguments either way, but I still feel that in 50 or so years time, when the reality sets in regarding the achievements in those early days of manned spaceflight, that people will be incredulous that the first Mission Control wasn't saved. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43374
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-04-2013 05:07 PM
Keep in mind, the building was not designed or built to be a mission control. It was a radar building before being repurposed as Mercury Mission Control, so it is not as though there was something unique about its architecture or even heritage to distinguish it from any other number of buildings standing at the cape in 1959. |
mercsim
Member Posts: 219
From: Phoenix, AZ
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 11-04-2013 05:25 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Rocketman!:
Does anyone know what happened to the red Mercury capsule tracking icon...
The tracking icon in the Smithsonian collection. I don't think its on display.You can find some nice period video on YouTube. Search "Mercury Mission Control" and also the MR-3 and MR-4 flights. I laid out the floor plan and started drawing the consoles in CAD with the intention of making a nice paper model diorama of the original MCC. One day... While they did a very nice job preserving and moving, it's quite different than the way it was for Mercury. MCC was modified for the first two Gemini flights and never really put it back. It's still pretty cool. |
drscoop
Member Posts: 54
From: Macclesfield, UK
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 11-13-2013 07:27 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Rocketman!:
I don't think its on display.
The Mercury tracking icon was on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center during my visit in April, sitting in a display case near Freedom 7 II, by Discovery. |
hotdog
Member Posts: 41
From: Chattanooga, TN
Registered: Dec 2011
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posted 02-14-2014 09:39 PM
Here are some images I took of the Mercury Control Room when I was at the KSC visitor center back in November. |
tlifan2
Member Posts: 44
From: Palm Coast, Florida
Registered: Feb 2014
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posted 03-09-2020 09:04 PM
I'm looking for a full building exterior photo of the Mercury Control Center pre-1963 expansion. I have been unable to find a picture like this so far. All of the ones I have found just include portions of the building, never the complete structure. |
Go4Launch
Member Posts: 547
From: Seminole, Fla.
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 03-09-2020 09:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Buel:
...people will be incredulous that the first Mission Control wasn't saved.
The MCC had a lot of asbestos, and the remediation costs would not have been worth it. Also a fair amount of salt air damage. |
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