Author
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Topic: KSC Visitor Complex: Apollo 11 crew statue
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-14-2018 09:24 AM
Documentary filmmaker Steven C. Barber has proposed a $750,000 bronze statue of the Apollo 11 crew be installed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in time for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, reports the Orlando Sentinel. ...Barber managed to get a meeting with Delaware North, the company that runs Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at the end of July. In the end, Delaware North gave Barber approval to seek funding for the statue, although exactly where and how it will be presented was not nailed down. The statue, if funded, will be created by George Lundeen, the sculptor that created the statues of Apollo astronaut Jack Swigert that stand in in National Statuary Hall and Denver International Airport. ...now has a design that shows the Apollo 11 crew in their space suits, helmets off and looking toward the moon.“It's an interesting thing to give composition to, to have all three of them work together,” Lundeen said. “ It's just like the team they went up as. You've got three individuals, each one of the pieces we have endeavored to make into a well designed sculpture on its own, but at the same time to have them interact well together as a team.” The end result will be figures that are a little larger than life at around 7 feet tall. |
Fra Mauro Member Posts: 1587 From: Bethpage, N.Y. Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 08-14-2018 10:59 AM
Good idea! I would think that the money would come from the public. I would certainly donate! |
328KF Member Posts: 1234 From: Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 08-14-2018 11:19 AM
The Lundeen work of Jack Swigert is spectacular. I pass by it in the Denver airport pretty often. The suit is done in full color and the details look like real hardware. He even sculpted Swigert's famous Rolex watch on the wrist. I'm certain this will be equally well done and would happily contribute. |
LM-12 Member Posts: 3208 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-14-2018 11:43 AM
How about a statue that replicated the crew as seen in this launch day photo, for example.
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Fra Mauro Member Posts: 1587 From: Bethpage, N.Y. Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 08-14-2018 01:29 PM
I like that too but how much of it would be included? Just the crew? |
LM-12 Member Posts: 3208 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-14-2018 01:41 PM
The crew, and maybe the front half of the ramp.
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-14-2018 01:46 PM
The design of the statue seems to have already been decided, as pictured above. |
Fra Mauro Member Posts: 1587 From: Bethpage, N.Y. Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 08-14-2018 04:09 PM
Of course, if you could speak to Alan Shepard, I'm sure he would feel that he should have the first statue, like Gagarin! In any event, the design looks great. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-14-2018 04:20 PM
There is a statue of Alan Shepard at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, as part of the Astronaut Hall of Fame gallery in Heroes & Legends attraction. |
SkyMan1958 Member Posts: 867 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 08-14-2018 05:14 PM
I'm not a fan of the idea at all. I'd be happy to have an Apollo 11 statue out there, but it should show examples of all the workers on the project. Maybe for example a pyramid design with each row of the pyramid being different sorts of scientists, technicians, administrators, astronauts from previous missions, etc. In my opinion, the bottom row should highlight average Americans, who, after all, by their taxes, made the whole thing possible. I'd be happy to have Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins at the top of the pyramid, but they wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the Moon without all the others. |
Headshot Member Posts: 864 From: Vancouver, WA, USA Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 08-15-2018 08:48 AM
I like the idea of a statue of that launch day pose by the crew along with a few KSC workers behind them. Make everyone life size and leave spaces between the workers so visitors could stand alongside them, just like the breadline portion of the FDR memorial in DC. That way average Americans are included.Bet Neil would have liked that idea better than a larger than life replica of himself and his crew. Besides, until the funds are in the bank, the proposed design is not set in stone, er bronze. |
OLDIE Member Posts: 268 From: Portsmouth, England Registered: Sep 2004
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posted 08-16-2018 03:37 PM
I prefer the original statue. The launch photo seems far too cluttered. As for including all the men and women who worked on the programme, I think inclusiveness can sometimes be carried too far. A simple statement is sometimes better than a complicated message. |
LM-12 Member Posts: 3208 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 08-22-2018 09:09 AM
quote: Originally posted by Fra Mauro: I like that too but how much of it would be included? Just the crew?
The Apollo transfer van is on display at KSC. The statues could be walking up to the actual van seen in the photo. |
hlbjr Member Posts: 475 From: Delray Beach Florida USA Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 08-22-2018 07:59 PM
I imagine Mike Collins' legendary modesty would be put to the test with this statue. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-10-2018 07:19 AM
The original idea for the statue was for all 12 moonwalkers to be depicted, but at $3 million it was too expensive. The project was narrowed to just the Apollo 11 crew for $750,000 and a company is now being sought to underwrite the full cost. ...he is confident that he will be able to find a willing suitor, particularly since the sponsor would be able to attach their name to a plaque that will be placed in front of the statue."This is just an incredible opportunity to wrap an advertising campaign around the greatest tech achievement in history of mankind," he said. "Nearly two million people a year visit the Kennedy Space Center, and this anniversary event next year is just going to be huge, so $750,000 is really not a lot to pay to be at the center of something like this and have that kind of exposure." The Lundeens and Bainer, meanwhile, have already started working on clay models of the astronauts in order to have something to show prospective sponsors and to be ready to go when funding is received. |
MrSpace86 Member Posts: 1618 From: Gardner, KS, USA Registered: Feb 2003
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posted 09-11-2018 12:00 PM
I feel the statue of just one crew would be a little much. A memorial of some kind (similar to the fallen astronauts wall or something like that) would be smaller, cheaper, and more inclusive.I tend to be against the "let's include everyone" mentality because that could literally apply to anything and everything in life and in history; However, the Apollo 11 crew, while mega historical, is overdone and everywhere. |
nasamad Member Posts: 2121 From: Essex, UK Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 09-11-2018 12:59 PM
I've always thought the Apollo 1 shot of the crew in their suits standing in front of the pad would make a nice statue. |
Headshot Member Posts: 864 From: Vancouver, WA, USA Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 09-11-2018 02:13 PM
Could have a statue of Armstrong and Aldrin shaking hands with Cernan and Schmitt with the tag line, "Well done." |
p51 Member Posts: 1642 From: Olympia, WA Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 09-11-2018 03:45 PM
I like it, but I doubt Armstrong would have liked this very much. I do like the poses, not showing them being all chummy (which most of us know is accurate). An Apollo 12 statue would have had to have had that crew monkeying around or otherwise showing their closeness as a crew. quote: Originally posted by Headshot: I like the idea of a statue of that launch day pose by the crew along with a few KSC workers behind them.
Once you go down the "everyone deserves a statue" trail, it gets silly. Would such a group statue include EVERY demographic that helped out? I can hear it now, "Hey, my great aunt swept the halls at JSC but you didn't include a woman with a broom in this statue, you monsters!"There's a reason the crews got the press: They were the ones who could (and did with Apollo 1) die both badly and publicly. I've known several support folks for the Apollo program and none would have a problem being left out in such a statue. In the end, they all knew the end goal was to get Neil and Buzz onto the lunar surface and return them with Mike back to Earth. Everything else was secondary. |
schnappsicle Member Posts: 396 From: Houston, TX, USA Registered: Jan 2012
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posted 09-18-2018 07:01 AM
Why not put on the helmets? That way it could represent all the Apollo astronauts. The spot where the mission emblem goes could be a glass circle with each mission emblem lit up as needed. Like say the Apollo 7 emblem would light up during the anniversary of that mission, and so forth.Either that or have all the mission emblems on the ground in front of the astronauts. Or better yet, have one fully suited Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and shuttle astronaut to pay tribute to all those who sacrificed their lives for the conquest of space. Somehow the idea of highlighting just one crew and one mission misses the point of the tribute. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-15-2019 12:35 AM
collectSPACE Rocket Mortgage underwrites new statue of Apollo 11 astronautsA new monument to the crew of the first moon landing will rise from the mission's launch site as the gift from an aptly-named financing company. Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans has partnered with Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to erect a bronze statue of Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. The monument, to be installed this summer, will be the focal point of a new garden outside the display of a Saturn V moon rocket at the Florida spaceport. |
oly Member Posts: 905 From: Perth, Western Australia Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 05-15-2019 01:24 AM
I think the addition of the gathered flag to the original design is a nice touch . |
David C Member Posts: 1015 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
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posted 05-15-2019 01:55 AM
I admire the quality of the sculpting, but I don't like the statue. I can excuse its depiction of just the 11 crew, that's normal simplification of history. However, I wish they'd used a pose the crew actually took rather than making one up. This statue tells me nothing about the real Apollo 11 crew or the program. It's all about the thoughts of those who commissioned it, and that includes the recent addition of the flag. Of course it's their money, but I don't really like the idea of something with such an obvious disregard for actual persons and events being displayed so prominently. |
Jonnyed Member Posts: 396 From: Dumfries, VA, USA Registered: Aug 2014
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posted 05-25-2019 09:46 AM
I agree completely with your dislike of the statue. Phony poses that make the astronauts look like gawkers. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-25-2019 09:55 AM
I don't know the sculptors' inspiration (perhaps I'll have a chance to ask them when the statue is dedicated), but to me, the poses evoke what was seen on July 16, 1969 from a location not too far away from where this monument will stand:If the statue is positioned outside the Apollo/Saturn V Center such that the crew is facing the water, then it will appear as if they are watching their own launch. In fact, it would make for a rather dramatic photo for the next time a crew launches to the moon, with the statue in the foreground. |
LM-12 Member Posts: 3208 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 05-25-2019 10:46 AM
quote: Originally posted by David C: This statue tells me nothing about the real Apollo 11 crew or the program. It's all about the thoughts of those who commissioned it.
That is a very good point.
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onesmallstep Member Posts: 1310 From: Staten Island, New York USA Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 05-28-2019 12:06 PM
For what it's worth, this statue, like any of a person or persons from around the world, may depict the astronauts specifically from Apollo 11, but it doesn't necessarily have to show an exact moment in time, i.e., one taken from a photo, a first-hand or historical account. I'm reminded of the Saint-Gaudens bronze relief sculpture on Boston Common showing the 54th Massachusetts Infantry of African-American Civil War soldiers. A powerful depiction of the men marching led by their colonel, Boston native Robert Gould Shaw, but not depicting a specific battle they were in. This is, after all, an artist's vision honoring not only the Apollo 11 crew but perhaps the future: I take their pose as looking up at the next launch into space, be it a return to the moon, an asteroid rendezvous and yes, a flight to Mars. They hold the flag as perhaps inspiration to the next generation of explorers to plant another flag during their mission on whatever landing site their spaceship takes them. |
Jonnyed Member Posts: 396 From: Dumfries, VA, USA Registered: Aug 2014
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posted 05-30-2019 06:43 AM
Does anyone know if Neil's family, or if Buzz or Michael were consulted on the "Apollo 11 crew as spectators" design?I would think that their preferences would carry significant weight although reality being what it is, the Rocket Mortgage sponsors probably have the biggest say. |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 05-30-2019 07:28 AM
The design of the statue precedes Rocket Mortgage coming on as its sponsor.The sculptors are not new to their craft. It is interesting to read the comments here, as I do not recall many objections to one of the Lundeens' earlier works — the statue of Jack Swigert that stands in the Capitol Building and at Denver International Airport, which is similar in pose and design to Michael Collins in this statue. |
p51 Member Posts: 1642 From: Olympia, WA Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 05-30-2019 04:41 PM
quote: Originally posted by Robert Pearlman: If the statue is positioned outside the Apollo/Saturn V Center such that the crew is facing the water, then it will appear as if they are watching their own launch.
I would think of it as them watching the launches of OTHERS that come later. I'd hope that someday, someone's going to leave KSC for the Moon again or Mars and when they do, assuming this statue is in that location then, that it would represent the spirits (once Buzz and Michael are gone) of all three crewmen from Apollo 11 watching them go. |
Grounded! Member Posts: 367 From: Bennington, Vermont, USA Registered: Feb 2011
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posted 05-30-2019 05:51 PM
I like both Robert's and p51s thoughts about the crew looking out across the water at a launch, especially the idea of them watching a liftoff to the moon, or Mars. In my opinion, it is a nice statue as is. |
LM1 Member Posts: 667 From: New York, NY Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 06-02-2019 07:59 AM
This is a great salute to the crew of Apollo 11. Thanks to Rocket Mortgage for sponsoring it. |
Jonnyed Member Posts: 396 From: Dumfries, VA, USA Registered: Aug 2014
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posted 06-02-2019 05:45 PM
I'd like to suggest that a title like "More Giant Leaps For Mankind" or "Onward To New Giant Leaps For Mankind" makes more sense than the "Eagle has landed" quote (just a humble opinion). |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-12-2019 03:11 PM
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex release Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Unveils Moon Tree Garden, 'The Eagle Has Landed' Statue to Honor Apollo 11 CrewToday, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex kicked off the Apollo 11 50th anniversary celebrations by unveiling the Moon Tree Garden, a dramatic new accent to the grounds of the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The garden, which features 12 trees grown from seeds that orbited the Moon, also includes a George Lundeen sculpture that depicts Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in their space suits. The statue, titled "The Eagle has Landed," is a gift to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex from Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans, the nation's largest mortgage lender. "As the nation's top mortgage lender, we treat the impossible as an opportunity," said Casey Hurbis, chief marketing officer of Rocket Mortgage. "We presented this statue to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to honor the courage and importance of the Apollo 11 mission, who achieved the impossible by landing man on the Moon and into the annals of history." The Moon Trees were provided by Rosemary Roosa, daughter of veteran Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa, and president of the nonprofit Moon Tree Foundation. The foundation was created in honor of her father, who took seeds from loblolly pine, sycamore, sweet gum, redwood, and Douglas fir trees on his space mission as part of a joint U.S. Forest Service/NASA project. The seeds, which have all orbited the Moon, were later germinated and planted around the world to share the story of the mission. Since then, the Moon Tree Foundation continues to fulfill its mission by planting second-generation "Moon Trees" all over the world. The 12 trees in the Moon Tree Garden represent each crewed Apollo mission. The garden also includes a carving made from the original Moon Tree planted at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex that was lost during Hurricane Irma in 2017. "We are excited to kick off our Apollo 11 celebrations at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex by officially opening the new Moon Tree Garden," said Therrin Protze, chief operating officer of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. "The garden and the life-size sculpture of the Apollo 11 crew are tributes to the outstanding accomplishments of the Apollo Program." At the center of the Moon Tree Garden, the seven-foot-tall bronze statue is set upon a four-foot-tall concrete base, which features an engraving that honors the Apollo 11 crew and all those who made their historic spaceflight possible. Other enhancements at the Apollo/Saturn V Center include a closer look at Lunar Module 9 and Command and Service Module 119, projection mapping on the side of the Saturn V Rocket, a 1969 period living room and bar scene, and much more. |
SpaceCadet1983 Member Posts: 227 From: United States Registered: May 2012
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posted 07-12-2019 03:43 PM
I personally like the way the statue turned out. What I don't like is the plaque attached to it. The astronauts names are too small and Rocket Mortgage is too big. In fact, Rocket Mortgage shouldn't even be on there. That's my two cents for what it's worth. |
Rick Mulheirn Member Posts: 4167 From: England Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 07-12-2019 04:03 PM
I think the figures are a very good likeness of each of the crewmen and the display overall is to be applauded. |
p51 Member Posts: 1642 From: Olympia, WA Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 07-12-2019 05:54 PM
WOW, that looks great!I recently saw the John Swigert memorial statue at the Denver airport and it's very similar in presentation. Of course, it was the same sculptors who made both... quote: Originally posted by SpaceCadet1983: The astronauts names are too small and Rocket Mortgage is too big. In fact, Rocket Mortgage shouldn't even be on there.
The money had to come from somewhere, and this is how you get things done. Get corporate sponsorship because we have seen countless times how crowd funding often goes nowhere. And no company is going to foot the bill without a way to write it off and get their name on it. There's nothing new here, this has been going on for generations. Think of all the structures and institutions in the public that have, for example, the names Carnegie or Mellon attached to them. Not mention all the sports arenas, most have company names on them for the donors. |
GACspaceguy Member Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 07-12-2019 06:23 PM
Amazing, how about a smaller replica version for us Kollectors? |
Ronpur Member Posts: 1211 From: Brandon, Fl Registered: May 2012
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posted 07-13-2019 07:14 PM
quote: Originally posted by GACspaceguy: Amazing, how about a smaller replica version for us Kollectors?
That would be awesome! |
David C Member Posts: 1015 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
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posted 07-14-2019 12:35 AM
quote: Originally posted by SpaceCadet1983: What I don't like is the plaque attached to it. The astronauts names are too small and Rocket Mortgage is too big.
Rocket Mortgage is way too big. Still think it's a well made statue, and still don't like it. Whilst I accept that statues often say more about the people who put them up than about their puported subjects, (as in this case), I don't have to like that fact. |