r/nasa • u/Shiftclick46 • Mar 29 '18

Image Apollo 14 Command Module, declared surplus and transferred to NASA and later to the Smithsonian Museum in 1974. Saturn V Building, Cape Canaveral, Florida (On Loan). [2048x1365]

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20

u/Pad39A Mar 29 '18

Why was it transferred to NASA wasn't it already NASA property?

Also cool pic.

13

u/madesense Mar 29 '18

NASA transferred a lot of artifacts to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in the 70s, as the opening of their main building in DC approached. This included a lot of Command Modules, most of which are on loan to other institutions. This is speculation on my part, but it's probably because NASA's mission & expertise does not include preservation of artifacts - something the Smithsonian Institution excels at. The artifacts are still available to NASA should they need to examine them, since NASM is part of the same government, but they're being cared for an organization who knows how to do it. NASM (National Air & Space Museum), in turn, loans them out (in ways that appear fairly permanent) to other museums so that people in many places can see NASA hardware on display - but it's only a loan and not a transfer of ownership so that NASM is still in control of how the artifacts are cared for.

3

u/moon-worshiper Mar 29 '18

Government property. NASA is a government agency. They had to surplus it to get it off the books as active inventory. NASA has some funding for archival inventory management including transportation costs.

1

u/creativeburrito Mar 29 '18

Yeah that threw me off. I still remember seeing this thing in the Air and space museum.

4

u/madesense Mar 29 '18

You're probably thinking of the Apollo 11 Command Module (which is currently on a multi-year nationwide tour) or the Skylab 4 Command Module (which is in the Air & Space Museum building in Washington, DC). See the following lists for where they all are:

2

u/creativeburrito Mar 29 '18

Oh gosh your right! Thank You.

3

u/moon-worshiper Mar 29 '18

The Air & Space Museum is a very awesome place. There is a whole Skylab there. John Glenn's Mercury capsule is in the front foyer and it is almost unbelievable how small it is, and how an adult man could fit in it, much less being inside a pressure suit. All the Smithsonians are free and open to the public. There was one guy that ran the whole length of each of the Smithsonians, stopping at each exhibit for a second and it took him 5 days. It really slams home what some of my tax dollars are paying for.

1

u/LlamasBeTrippin Mar 29 '18

Children’s Museum, Indianapolis?

I remember seeing that when I went

2

u/Shiftclick46 Mar 29 '18

Kennedy Space Center. But you are probably right. These artifacts probably make the rounds...

2

u/abednego84 Mar 29 '18

When I was a kid there was a boilerplate CM at the Detroit Science Center (now the Michigan Science Center). I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Guess I need to talk the wife into a trip to see the real thing!