The New York Hall of Science rockets, which have been welcoming local and international visitors for nearly four decades, will return to the Hall on Thursday, October 2.
The re-installation of the 110-foot-high Titan II and the 102-foot-high Atlas rockets will take place at the Hall at 11 am. The rockets--once part of the two-acre U.S. Space Park at the 1964-1965 World's Fair--will be traveling through Manhattan and will arrive at the Hall early in the morning on October 2, 2003.
"Standing at the base of these rockets and looking up will be an awesome experience," said Hall Director Dr. Alan J. Friedman. "They are very tall, slender towers, once filled with extremely volatile fuel, with tiny capsules on top. I am fascinated by imagining what it was like to strapped into one of those capsules when the engines were ignited and the whole thing began to roar into space."
The 110-foot-high Titan II will stand as it would have on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy. The Gemini capsule that will sit on top of the Titan II is a fiberglass model that was used during the start of the U.S. Space Program for testing purposes.
The 102-foot-high Atlas will feature a Mercury capsule replica. The authentic Mercury capsule, originally displayed with the Atlas will be part of a permanent exhibition in Science City, the Hall's $68-million expansion, opening Thanksgiving week of 2004.
The rocket restoration was conducted by Thomarios, an Akron-based firm which has to its credit the restoration of rockets at the Kennedy Space Center and the Smithsonian Institution. Years of weathering necessitated the restoration, which included removal of corrosion, replacement of several exterior panels, new steel framing, and painting.
The New York Hall of Science (now NYSCI) is New York City's only hands-on science and technology center. Ranked as one of the best science museums in the country, the Hall is a leading innovator in exhibit technology and educational programming. More than 225 hands-on exhibits explore the wonder and excitement of biology, chemistry and physics.