posted 02-13-2015 01:34 AM               

The Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Ontario has announced that it will scrap the Atlas 5A rocket which has stood outside its building since 1973. Officially on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, the rocket, serial number 56-6742, is currently one of just a handful of survivors from the early days of the US space program. It has stood exposed to the elements for forty years now, and corrosion has taken its toll.

posted 02-13-2015 01:35 AM               

Long-standing Technology Park landmarks to be taken down

For safety reasons related to their deterioration, the Atlas Rocket and the oil pumpjack that have for many years graced the lawns of Technology Park in front of the Canada Science and Technology Museum (CSTM) will be removed.

The exact date of the removal of the Atlas Rocket and the pumpjack is not known with certainty, and will depend on the judgment of the contractor hired to take down the structures based on weather conditions and other factors.

The Atlas Rocket is the property of the United States Air Force (USAF), who had loaned it to the Canada Science and Technology Museum. Over the years, weathering has deteriorated it. It has not been air tight for many years, and a compressor coupled to a generator have been required to maintain its internal pressure to prevent it from collapsing upon itself. As its deterioration advances and becomes more severe, practical solutions to maintain the required internal pressure to prevent it from crumpling and potentially injuring visitors to Technology Park are running out. The USAF has indicated it does not want the Atlas Rocket returned, and has provided instructions about the manner of its disposal which the CSTM will comply with.

Weathering has also damaged the oil pumpjack over the years, leading to fears some pieces could detach and injure Technology Park visitors. The pump jack will be taken down, and stored in the CSTM’s collection storage facility.

posted 02-19-2015 10:42 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by PeterO:
The Atlas 5A designation is correct. The letter suffix identifies the model of Atlas, and the numeral is the manufacturer's serial number.

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posted 02-25-2015 05:32 PM               

Crews loaded the 59-year-old rocket onto a large flatbed truck [Wednesday] for its final descent to a storage facility. Once there it will be permanently dismantled as per the instructions from its owner, the United States Air Force.

"Their instruction is that it be cut up into very small pieces that can't be put back together because it had military applications in the past, I presume," says Museum spokesperson Olivier Bouffard.

The rocket has been on loan from the USAF since 1973.

Museum officials say the rocket had to come down before it collapsed on its own because of its deteriorating condition. Despite its rigid appearance, the skin of the rocket is actually quite thin. "It's made out of 27 sections, says Bouffard. "Most of them are about the thickness of a milk carton."

Generators have been in place to maintain the rocket's internal air pressure to prevent it from crumpling in on itself, not unlike a big balloon. But now it has simply sprung too many leaks to be safely displayed.