SPACE.com -- Historic Mercury Launch Pad Reimagined As Classroom
The launch pad used by the first United States astronauts to enter orbit around Earth may soon be revived as an engineering classroom for a new generation of rocket builders, where laid off space shuttle technicians are the teachers.
Jennifer Scheer, who will soon end her eight-year career servicing NASA’s orbiters, conceived the idea, which she has dubbed “Project Mercury Rising.” She has proposed restoring the Complex 14 launch pad Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to give students hands-on engineering experience working with a replica Mercury-Atlas rocket.
This space camp for budding rocket builders would then trade the replicas for the real thing, sending payloads the students build into space on commercial rockets launched from a nearby active pad.
I love this idea.
(via uraniaproject)
