You Can Step Inside a Scale Model of the ISS in Alabama
Near NASA's Marshall facility in Huntsville, Alabama, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center has long been a must-see for space flight fans. While the Center has some exquisite relics of NASA's past (including the Apollo 16 capsule and an entire Saturn V rocket), a new exhibit lets visitors step inside the ISS, and touch and feel a scale replica of our orbital outpost in low-Earth orbit.
ISS: Science on Orbit just opened as a permanent exhibit at the center. There's no microgravity, but there is a fantastic replica of the tube-like complex. Lee Roop of Alabama Live reported that engineers who worked on the ISS were pleased with the replica. There's even a full scale replica of the Cupola Observation Module, aka that window where astronauts gaze down at the Earth below.
Of course, if that's not enough space station for you, there's always the Skylab 2 module (a never-flown model of the craft) at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. But short of a million dollar tourist pass to the ISS, this is the closest you'll get to a real visit for a while.
To get the full view, head on over to Alabama Live's slideshow. It may be the first time you wished you were in Alabama. (We kid, we kid.)
Source: Alabama Live
