New mission artifacts at Space Foundation

       Several historic space artifacts have been recently received by the Westside-based Space Foundation and will be added to its General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achieve-ment Award.
       The public is welcome to come view the seven-foot-tall award sculpture, located inside the lobby of the the national non-profit organization's offices, 310 S. 14th St. The foundation's only request is that people call ahead or check first with the person at the front desk, according to Steve Eisenhart, the foundation's senior vice president of policy & public affairs.
       The artifacts that will become part of the Hill Award are:
       Three pieces of the heat shield of the Mercury spaceship Faith 7, which flew in space May 15-16, 1963, under the command of astronaut Gordon Cooper.
       A medallion, flown in space, comprised in part of metals from the Apollo 8 spacecraft which from Dec. 21-27, 1968, carried astronauts Jim Lovell, Frank Borman and Bill Anders on the first human journey around the Moon.
       A medallion, flown in space and comprised in part of metals taken from the Columbia command module and Eagle lunar lander of Apollo 11, which carried astronauts Mike Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, culminating in the first landing on the moon July 20, 1969.
       A medallion, flown in space, commemorating the first space shuttle mission (STS-1) and bearing the engraved signatures of crew members John Young and Bob Crippen and containing metals from that shuttle (the Columbia).
       Created five years ago by California artists Joy Day and B.E. Johnson, the Hill Award is designed with a grouping of transparent, multi-colored globes- made to look like part of the blast from a rocket taking off. Some of the globes already contain pieces of space history, including a piece of space shuttle tile from mission STS-95 (John Glenn's return to flight), flown MultiLayer Insulation (MLI) shielding, Moon dust, a piece of the launch gantry from the Explorer 1 launch, aerogel used in the Stardust spacecraft, and an Apollo 11 mission flag that was carried to the surface of the Moon.
       “It was always the intent of the artists to add things to it,” Eisenhart explained.
       The award was named for the foundation's late, long-time chairman, retired U.S. Air Force General James E. Hill. The foundation recognizes an individual in the award's name each year.
       Founded in 1983, the Space Foundation supports civil, commercial and national security space endeavors, focusing particularly on the annual National Space Symposium, which is scheduled this year from April 9-12 at the Broadmoor Hotel.
       For more information, call 576-8000.

Westside Pioneer/press release