The home of a famously-sunken Mercury capsule and the spacecraft that brought the Apollo 13 crew back to Earth is getting an upgrade.
The Cosmosphere, a world-class space museum located in Hutchinson, Kansas, announced this week that it is ready to continue with the redesign and renovation of its Hall of Space, a series of galleries that together allows visitors to step back through the history of space exploration by way of an extensive artifact collection.
kyra Member
Posts: 619 From: Louisville CO US Registered: Aug 2003
posted 01-18-2024 12:50 PM
I still remember my visit to the Cosmosphere and the great staff there. I remember just how dark it was in the display areas and it looks like a major improvement is on the way. This is great news.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 55275 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 06-18-2024 04:50 PM
Cosmosphere release
Cosmosphere's Rocket Gallery to Feature Flight-Proven Engine from SpaceX's Falcon 9
The Cosmosphere is pleased to announce that it has received a flight-proven Merlin rocket engine donated to the Museum by its manufacturer, SpaceX.
Nine Merlin engines power SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Falcon 9 is the world's first orbital class, reusable rocket designed for the safe and reliable transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond. The Merlin engine received by the Cosmosphere helped power the launch of the Koreasat-5A mission on October 30, 2017, which lifted off from the historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the same pad that supported many of the Apollo missions.
"The Cosmosphere is grateful to receive a flown Merlin engine from SpaceX," said Jim Remar, Cosmosphere president and CEO. "The inclusion of the engine in our museum reaffirms the fact that the Cosmosphere houses one of the greatest collections of space exploration hardware."
The Merlin engine will be displayed in the Cosmosphere's new rocket gallery, which is set to open in late 2024.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 55275 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 07-24-2024 03:58 PM
Cosmosphere release
Renovated Galleries Are Entirely Walkable!
The renovated galleries in the Cosmosphere’s Hall of Space are open to the public! While many artifacts are on display during this time, the exhibits and graphics won't be fully completed until the end of 2024.
Until then, a Gallery Guide and map are available here to assist with identifying significant artifacts on display in the newly renovated galleries. Please be aware that occasionally, parts of the renovated galleries could be closed when crews install exhibits and graphics.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 55275 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
The space race of the past never looked so bright.
The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas has finished renovating its Hall of Space, a series of galleries that tours visitors through the nearly 70 years of space exploration using the museum's artifacts and now new interactive displays. The work to refresh the exhibits began in 2020.
randyc Member
Posts: 963 From: Highlands Ranch, CO USA Registered: May 2003
posted 09-26-2025 12:40 PM
I noticed that the Lunar Module in the Apollo 11 display has both the right and left panels on either side of the hatch painted black. On Apollo 11 only the panel on the left side was black. In fact Apollo 11 was the only Lunar Module that landed on the moon with that panel painted black. The panels on either side of the hatch of the Lunar Modules for Apollos 12-17 were not painted black.
This reminds me of when I saw a 'proof' of the painting 'Eagles Last Flight' by Dan Witkoff in an aviation store in Laguna Beach, CA. It showed Eagle and Columbia above the Lunar surface before docking, but there were two errors. The first was that the panel to the left of the hatch was not black, and the second was that the Command/Service Module had a SIM Bay. I recognized the images that he used. They were photos of the Apollo 17 LM Ascent Stage before docking and the Apollo 15 CM/SM in Lunar Orbit
The gallery owner called the artist, and he told me that he had done alot of research before he started the painting. I mentioned the photos that he used and suggested he look at photos of the Apollo 11 CM/SM and LM. When the prints were released the LM panel was black and the SIM bay removed.
Even now I see models and paintings of Saturn Vs with the 500F paint pattern. There are hundreds of photos of Saturn V launches, and yet there still are new products with the 500F paint pattern.
posted 01-17-2024 05:30 PM
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