Adding to the Legacy of Human Spaceflight with the Coca-Cola Space Science Center

With all of the space excitement in November, I'm delayed in writing about this great local news: the opening of the Legacy of Human Spaceflight exhibit at Columbus State University's Coca-Cola Space Science Center.

My son Leo and I spent the morning of November 10 in Columbus, Georgia as a guest for the ribbon cutting. Among the announcement: Apollo astronaut Fred Haise will be a special guest at the museum next July for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

My fellow museum explorer Leo strapped in for the ride.

Museum Executive Director Shawn Cruzen gave us the first tour. He described every item in the new exhibit with pride. This was my first visit to the museum so I was grateful for the explanations. Even though it was a replica, my favorite item was the Coca-Cola dispenser flown on the space shuttle before we realized carbonated beverages and microgravity don't mix.

Getting a first look at the new exhibit.

Executive Director Shawn Cruzen giving the first tour.

Replica of a microgravity Coca-Cola dispenser

Shawn was very excited to show us the exhibit donated by the brother of Apollo and Gemini astronaut Dave Scott and the mission control sign that will soon be backlit illuminated. I noted many personal touches among the donated artifacts.

Artifacts donated by Dave Scott's brother

After the tour, Leo and I explored the rest of the museum, which didn't take long because it's small. A space shuttle simulator vibrated like crazy, filling the room with rumbles. Images of human spaceflight were everywhere. A space shuttle main engine nozzle sat in the center of it all.

Space shuttle simulator

Mission control console

Space Shuttle Main Engine Nozzle

I took the opportunity to speak with a few of the museum curators and employees. I was surprised to learn how much work goes into identifying each artifact. I had the misconception that NASA keeps meticulous records on each part and its history, but this is not the case, especially in the days following the space shuttle retirement when contracts were ending and employees were leaving or had already left.

As an example, a curator explain one particular space shuttle piece of hardware, a tire, had been flagged as never flown but had in fact flown twice, a history uncovered by his efforts tracking down part numbers and going through databases. Even larger items such as spacesuits (their current project) aren't necessarily kept with accurate records. A lot of work goes into creating accurate descriptions on museum plaques.

I have a better appreciation for what curators go through to create records of history and human progress for the public. I look forward to seeing the Space Science Center continue to grow.