The HabForum

Does anyone remember the Star Wars X-Wing fighter mock-up that sat in the Rocket Park back in the 80's/early 90s? It sat in the area where the HAWK missile launcher is now (in between Space Shot and Saturn 5). What was the story on that? I always thought it was a bit random and out-of-place. What happened to that thing?

We'll need some of the real old timers to answer this one. Spanky?

FINALLY! I get to resurrect this old thread because, after years of searching, I have found photographic proof of when there was a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter in the Rocket Park. Now ya'll won't think I'm crazy!



This photo is from 1986, but I remember it was still there when I went in 1987 and maybe 1989.

I wish I knew the story on this "artifact". Was it an actual prop from Lucasfilm? And if so, did the studio ask for it back? Or did the Sprocket curators of the time decide it was too fictional for display?

Beats me what the story was behind this, I never even knew it existed until reading this just now.
I know that Lucasfilms never had a production x-wing that size made for any of the movies, but they did make a few 3/4 scale one for the re-mastered movies in the 90s. One is on display at the museum at the Former Lowry AFB in Colorado: http://www.wingsmuseum.org/discover/air ... tarfighter
sadly, none of the x-wings made for the original SW films exists today...

I don't recall it being there in September, 1988. The first time that I visited. I would certainly have noticed and photographed it if it was. I do remember all of the Star Trek gear that was scattered all over Space Camp in October, 1996 when I went. There was a big Star Trek convention in Huntsville that year and they were tieing in with it.
Even though I am a Trekkie from way back, I found it a bit annoying to have the fictional space program interfering with my "real" space missions.

That was the same argument people made against the Star Trek exhibit and later Star Wars exhibit at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum*. The response was that fictional space helped fuel the imaginations of those who later went for real (using Jules Vern as an example for Goddard and others).
I'm not sure I totally buy that arguement, especially for a franchise which is still making money (and the Trek exhibit being in conjunction with a new movie coming out at the same time).

*http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Star_Tr ... an_Exhibit and http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/s ... -unit1.htm

It wasn't the life-sized cardboard standup Star Trek characters scattered around the museum that I minded so much, it was the Trekkies coming onto the training center floor and knocking on the door of the orbiter when we were in the middle of our mission. That got to be really annoying!

Conan wrote:It wasn't the life-sized cardboard standup Star Trek characters scattered around the museum that I minded so much, it was the Trekkies coming onto the training center floor and knocking on the door of the orbiter when we were in the middle of our mission. That got to be really annoying!

People talk about how things have changed in that the public can no longer see what's going on with the sim floor like they used to be able to, but if that happened with some frequency, I'd have to say it's an improvement!
That said, two orbiter missions I've been in the cockpit for (one as pilot, the other as Commander), I doubt I've noticed my own wife coming through the hatch as I was so focused on the mission itself (and well above the hatch).
So they didn't have trainers crsuing the floor back then? People could just walk up to the sims? I'm surprised that getting into the hatch, campers didn't regularly encounter the public just poking around inside the sims!

On the early photo, does any know how this stayed on display at the Space Center?

The X-wing may have been gone by 1988. I couldn't remember clearly if it was there in 1989 when I was there for Camp, but I def remember it being there in 1987. So we can verify that it was on the grounds for at least one year, 1986-1987. I don't remember any traveling exhibit or convention being there at the time. I was a big Star Wars fan as a kid, so I would have remembered if this was part of a larger exhibit or event. I do remember thinking "wow, what is this doing here?" It sat oddly amongst mostly army missiles, directly opposite of the X-15 mockup. Okay I get it now, X-15 and X-wing!

Steve, I'm not sure if I understand your question...

Hotdog, you answered my question. I wished I could have saw it. Growing up I was around the center about once a year, I missed that one. Thanks again