Mock shuttle

March 8, 1999
Web posted at: 11:41 a.m. EST (1641 GMT)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (CNN) -- Children at the U.S. Space Camp marvel at the authentic look of the towering mock space shuttle in Huntsville, seemingly poised to return to the heavens. But what they may not realize is parts of the demonstration shuttle will actually head back to space.

The 11-by-12 foot forward skirts, which hold electronics just behind the nose of the solid rocket boosters, are real. NASA gave them to the Rocket and Space Center years ago to use for exhibits. But now the federal space program has called them back to active duty. Only 28 were ever made and five have been lost or irreparably damaged on shuttle missions. According to NASA, building new ones might cost $10 million and take four years, possibly interrupting the shuttle schedule.

Instead a NASA engineer came up with a quicker and cheaper idea. "He was thinking about where else do we have our hardware, our assets, and he happened to be driving by the museum at the time, and it was like a blinding flash of inspiration," says NASA's John Chapman.

NASA colleagues liked the idea and contacted the Space and Rocket Center, which adjoins NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

"Soon after the meeting commenced, we then realized it was far from a courtesy call. It was 'We want to share an idea with you and see what you think,'" says the Space and Rocket Center's Michael Wing. The center, a museum whose primary mission is education, agreed to give up the real aluminum skirts. In return it will receive fiberglass mockups.

The skirt is removed from the mock shuttle

Are the real ones heading for another mission really space-worthy after their long retirement? Absolutely, says NASA.

"These have actually had a pretty mild life. These have almost been on vacation compared to the life they have in the flight program," says Chapman.

That life includes soaring into the sky at five times the speed of sound, making a fiery re-entry into the atmosphere and slamming into salt water at 60 miles (97 kilometers) an hour.

Such an ordeal lies ahead for the space museum skirts. After extensive testing, they will return to space, probably in about two years.

CNN's Brian Cabell contributed to this report.

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