By Paul Gattis
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center celebrated Space Camp on Friday and cast a prosperous eye to the future.
The museum in Huntsville formally broke ground on a Space Camp Operations facility that will be named for Boeing after the company donated $3.5 million to the project. It’s the largest single donation in rocket center history.
Construction is already underway on the 40,600 square foot center, which will include a 1,000-seat auditorium, 10 classrooms and laboratories and provide a permanent home for the center’s U.S. Cyber Camp. The exterior of the building is a replica moonscape.
“It’s a monumental day for us,” said John Nerger, the chair of the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission.https://www.youtube.com/embed/xD7ShgKe55M?feature=oembed
The total cost of the project is more than $15 million, an increase of almost 40 percent over the estimates due to increases in labor and materials. The project was delayed by the pandemic. The rocket center said it is raising money to complete the outfitting of all the classrooms and laboratories.
Sponsorship deals were announced Friday for three of the 10 classrooms.
It’s been quite a recovery for the rocket center after the financial devastation of the pandemic that led to a plea for donations last year to keep the doors open. That plea resulted in more than 9,000 donations from all 50 states and 40 countries around the world and raised more than $3 million.
In summing up that recovery during the groundbreaking, Nerger said, “We’re moving forward.”
The new facility is scheduled to open in March 2023.
“This is an important day and a great day in the history of the Space & Rocket Center,” CEO and Executive Director Kimberly Robinson said. “This marks the start on a path to an even bolder vision – one that encompasses all of our facilities in programs in the entire Space & Rocket Center campus. This new building serves as a cornerstone from which we can reimagine every aspect of this amazing center to take us to greater heights and to ensure the U.S. Space & Rocket Center will continue to serve as a beacon for humankind’s ingenuity and curiosity for years to come.”
Boeing hailed Space Camp as being an inspiration for future employees.
“Boeing is investing in the U.S. Space and Rocket Center because it provides innovative exposure to STEM-based knowledge and hands-on learning that help students see themselves in the careers of the future,” said Jim Chilton, senior vice president of Boeing Space and Launch. “In fact, many of our Boeing space systems engineers are graduates of Space Camp, and credit their experiences here with inspiring them to reach for the stars.”