NASA Glenn’s Visitor Center Hosts Apollo 11 Anniversary Activities

CLEVELAND — NASA Glenn Research Center’s Visitor Center invites the public to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 on Saturday, July 18, with a look back at the historic event and a look forward at NASA’s ongoing work to develop the rockets and spacecraft for the next generation of explorers.

Activities include the following presentations and tours:

11 a.m. Apollo Missions: Honoring the Past. You’ll relive man’s first steps on the moon and learn about the impact of the Apollo program.

1 p.m. Orion: Creating the Future. Join us for an overview of the next generation of launch vehicles, the Ares I and Ares V rockets that will launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle and heavy payloads for missions to the International Space Station and the moon.

Research facility tours will occur between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Discover the Abe Silverstein Supersonic Wind Tunnel, the largest and fastest wind tunnel at Glenn, which was used in extensive tests on models of Saturn booster stages, America’s first rocket. Dr. Silverstein, Glenn’s former director, named the Apollo program and laid the groundwork for that program’s success in landing a man on the moon.

See the Zero Gravity Research Facility, NASA’s premier facility for ground-based microgravity research and the largest of its kind in the world. The center’s unique zero gravity facility was called upon to do two jobs for the Apollo program. In mid-1960, engineers used this facility to help solve the problem of re-starting the service module’s propulsion system in space and to determine the proper size of various thrusters. It was also used to study the causes of the Apollo 13 incident.

Reservations for the presentations can be made by calling, 216-433-9653. Tickets for the tours are available 30 minutes before each tour begins.

At the Visitor’s Center, see Glenn’s most popular Apollo exhibits: the Apollo Command Module that carried three astronauts to Skylab, the Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo vehicles into space, an Apollo spacesuit worn during a Skylab mission and a real moon rock.

Everyone attending this special event can take home a digital photograph from the “Picture Yourself in Space” photo booth. For kids, there will be quick craft take-home activities.

Admission to the Visitor Center is free and wheelchair accessible. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and holidays, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The Visitor Center is located at 21000 Brookpark Road. All adult visitors must present government-issued identification upon entering the research center’s main gate. Access to the Visitor Center is limited to U.S. citizens, and all vehicles are subject to inspection.

For further information about Glenn’s Visitor Center and these events, call 216-433-2000, or visit: http://visit.grc.nasa.gov