The HabForum

A friend of mine who lives in the Huntsville area brought this to my attention tonight.

Aparently a large chunk of the bottom of Pathfinder fell away and onto the External Tank. From the general deterioration that i saw to the once beautiful artifact this does not surprise me at all.

I was shocked to see 2 years ago just how bad it looked and then again last summer. I remember when Pathfinder was a Shining Jewel of the rocket park and much talked about in every space camp and space and rocket center publication not its falling apart it seems.

Truly something needs to be done to restore this once magnificent piece of history. honestly even if it takes a fund raising campaign on the scale of the Saturn V restoration i think it needs to be done before it gets worse.

Don't let the Pathfinder go the way of the Skylab mock up.

This message is intended mainly for the space and rocket center but honestly i think after this and when you see the picture you'll understand.

We need to get a campaign together to save this artifact. Even if nothing else but everyone contacting the space and rocket center and letting them know our feelings on this. To me seeing this happen is a tragedy and a repair job should not cut it they need a real restoration. and i believe the money could be raised.

Pathfinder has been there almost 20 years now it is a part of that place and space campers memories. Lets not let it fall apart but try and do something to save it. Ok now i will come down off my soap box. The link below has a picture of the damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Pathfinder

They better do something quick before this falls off and kills somebody.

I just saw this on the Hab1 homepage. Yikes!!

A good portion of my best camp memories involve Pathfinder - seeing it outside the Hab windows, walking past/under it a dozen times a day, and *ahem* climbing on the stands, to name a few. Along with the Saturn V, it is a monument of Space Camp, an icon that engraves itself into every visitor, trainee, and counsellor, and needs to be restored and preserved!

AND SOON!

Boomerang wrote:A friend of mine who lives in the Huntsville area brought this to my attention tonight.

Aparently a large chunk of the bottom of Pathfinder fell away and onto the External Tank. From the general deterioration that i saw to the once beautiful artifact this does not surprise me at all.

I was shocked to see 2 years ago just how bad it looked and then again last summer. I remember when Pathfinder was a Shining Jewel of the rocket park and much talked about in every space camp and space and rocket center publication not its falling apart it seems.

Truly something needs to be done to restore this once magnificent piece of history. honestly even if it takes a fund raising campaign on the scale of the Saturn V restoration i think it needs to be done before it gets worse.

Don't let the Pathfinder go the way of the Skylab mock up.

This message is intended mainly for the space and rocket center but honestly i think after this and when you see the picture you'll understand.

We need to get a campaign together to save this artifact. Even if nothing else but everyone contacting the space and rocket center and letting them know our feelings on this. To me seeing this happen is a tragedy and a repair job should not cut it they need a real restoration. and i believe the money could be raised.

Pathfinder has been there almost 20 years now it is a part of that place and space campers memories. Lets not let it fall apart but try and do something to save it. Ok now i will come down off my soap box. The link below has a picture of the damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Pathfinder

Jason,

Restoring Pathfinder??? Thats no fun, lets just get a big tarp and throw it over the top. Better yet, we'll get a blue tarp and claim FEMA donated it.

This is horrible! something really should be done, even if it's just a temporary fix for this section. Long term something should definetly be done about the Pathfinder's condition.

I really saw how bad Pathfinder was deteriorating when I was at USSRC in February. For some reason, I really didn't notice it last summer, but after I looked at my pictures from camp last summer I saw it too. Something really needs to be done about it, otherwise this will be another important piece of history gone down.

hi everyine

I just emailed a friend who works at the USSRC.
I too hope that if the pathfinder has fallen into disrepair something is done to protect and preserve it.

apparently there is a repair crew there now one of my friends(a counselor) tells me.

ditto

My friend Brandy Formerly a counselor now a manager tells me.

I hope they brought Duct Tape.

bnaivar wrote:I hope they brought Duct Tape.

It ain't broke till duct tape can't fix it!

Hey Jason,

Yeah I remember last summer when I visited, you and I sat at length outside with the Pathfinder describing its deterioration. This was definatley part of the culture shock I had as a former camper returning to visit after 10+ years to see this icon in such shambles. It was if the weathered old Pathfinder was a reminder of how much older I had gotten over the years since I had seen it last.

What are the chances of the Pathfinder being back to normal when we return for alumni weekend next month???

According to Vincent's post on the home page, they are doing repairs right now. I doubt it will be a full restoration but it should be back to one piece before you get there.

I am happy to say the renovation of Pathfinder has been completed. All of the cranes and equipment have been removed (except one) and it looks great! Very shiny.

The really good news is the pigeon deterrents that are being installed this week. This will help the 'Iron Horse' stay in better shape. Bird feces contains a lot of acid that does damage rapidly.

Here's a couple of photos:

street wrote:I am happy to say the renovation of Pathfinder has been completed. All of the cranes and equipment have been removed (except one) and it looks great! Very shiny.

That's great to hear and especially to see. Especially with the new coat of paint, Pathfinder's looking a lot better, more like I remember her from my first couple of trips to camp.

WOW i havent seen the old girl; look that good in a long time. Glad to see her once again in all her glory.

Beautiful!!

Amazing what a few tubes of glue and buckets of paint can do.

I remember how bad it looked when I was down in Huntsville in February, and this is a major improvement. It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years, and now it looks almost brand new.

I was at the USSRC about a month ago and Pathfinder looked great. I had forgotten that it was going to be renovated, so it was quite a shock.

WOW!

My first time back on the board in months and it is nice to see the Pathfinder looking shiny as a new penny. I must say, she looks even better than she did when she first arrived on the grounds in the late 80s!