posted 02-21-2015 01:59 PM               

Above Texas Skies: Space Exploration in the Texas Coastal Bend

Opening March 5, 2015

Blast off with the Museum of the Coastal Bend!

The Texas Coastal Bend has enabled space exploration for more than 50 years... and it's more than just the space center in Houston. See a moon rock, learn the story of the first private space launch in history, how the space shuttle almost launched from our coast, and how this region helped make sure astronauts were well-trained.

posted 02-22-2015 12:05 PM               

On Sept. 9, 1982, Space Services, Inc. successfully launched the 36-foot Conestoga 1 rocket from the south section of Matagorda Island. Conestoga 1 contained 40 pounds of water to simulate the weight of a satellite. It was carried 321 miles during a 10.5-minute, suborbital flight that reached an elevation of 195 miles. This was the first privately-funded rocket to reach space.

A year earlier, on Aug. 5, 1981, the 59-foot Percheron rocket, a low-cost commercial test vehicle, was fired from Matagorda Island but exploded at launch due to a malfunction.

Witnesses include people working at the site, those who saw a launch, or anyone who was involved in any way with the launch efforts.

...if you have information, call or email the museum at 361-582-2511.

posted 03-06-2015 07:52 AM               

Most people know that Texas is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center. But this region of Texas is also home to many other stories of space exploration, from astronaut training to the first private spaceflight in history.

The museum is also displaying two equipment boxes from OV-095, the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) at Johnson Space Center, on loan from collectSPACE.

The museum has scheduled a number of talks to accompany the exhibit, including one on missing moon rocks by Joseph Gutheinz and in May, a lecture by astronaut Bonnie Dunbar.