Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Dear Friend of the Museum,

It is now time to look ahead to 2012, but before we do lets reflect on the accomplishments of the past several months. As we look back on 2011 we realize that we have had a very good year indeed. Our success is entirely due to our friends, supporters, sponsors and our tireless volunteers. A few highlights from 2011 include:

• The return of the Mercury 7 Gondola to Warminster on May 5th coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Alan Shepard’s historic flight. The gondola was held at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum’s storage yard in Suitland, Maryland for the past 47 years. Special thanks to Comcast and the History Channel for making the move possible.
• A wonderful Spring Gala held in May and highlighted by two special guests, Art Guntner who assisted the Mercury Astronauts and who rode the centrifuge over 350 times himself related his unique oral history. He was joined by Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer for the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute who delivered an inspiring story of his own.
• The return of the Iron Maiden in August brought out many who worked with Flannigan Grey when he set his near unbeatable world record with the device in 1958.
• A wonderful time at Warminster Day in September where we had an opportunity to display some exhibits in our “Museum in the Park” that are on loan from the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum in Maryland. We were also fortunate to have the weather cooperate for a flyover by a Navy F-18 that thanks to the coordination and support of Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick. The pilot was called in by NADC’s own Bob Campbell.
• A special “friendraising” evening on December 8th at the Campbell Classic Auto Museum in Doylestown where supporters got to see some of the centrifuge couches that we have acquired from the National Air and Space Museum.

We could not have done any of these things or achieved any of our goals in 2011 without volunteers or supporters like you who have given so much of their time to make the museum the success that it has become.

We look forward to a busy and exciting 2012 as we continue to raise funds to preserve the Mercury 7 Gondola, make plans to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of John Glenn’s historic orbital flight in February and hold our Third Annual Spring Gala in April. Our education programs kick off in January with a visit form a traveling classroom followed shortly by our first participation in a science fair in February. We look forward to another special year as we create a place that honors the history of innovation at NADC and inspires our youth to reach for the stars in all that they do.

Thank you for your support.

Michael Maguire
President
Johnsville Centrifuge & Science Museum

Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum to Showcase Artifacts on Loan from Patuxent River Naval Air Museum

Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum will be participating in this year’s Warminster Day this Saturday, September 10 from 11AM to 4PM at Warminster Community Park by featuring some recently acquired artifacts that have never been on display in the local area in a unique “Museum in the Park” setting.
 
Among the artifacts to be displayed will be a 1970s era test wing from an early pilotless drone and the 1950 dedication plaque from the centrifuge building, both of which are on loan from the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum (http://paxmuseum.com).  In addition, a rare fiberglass contour couch that was used for training in the centrifuge will be on display. The contour couch was acquired by the museum from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.

NASA Ambassador Presentations
to Occur Throughout the Day

Also included in the program will be Dr. Ann Schmiedekamp, NASA Solar System Ambassador and Professor of Physics at Penn State University, who will be giving presentations throughout the day on the challenges involved in interplanetary travel.  Dr. Schmiedekamp is one of a handful of NASA Solar System Ambassadors in the country.

 Special Interpretive Programs to be Offered
at Mercury 7 Gondola 

 The museum will also be providing a special interpretive program at the Mercury 7 Gondola – the original centrifuge capsule that was in use from 1950 through 1963 which was brought back to Warminster earlier this year after 47 years in storage at the Smithsonian Institution. All of the Mercury and Gemini astronauts stepped into the Mercury 7 Gondola as part of their training.

In addition, Art Guntner, a retired Naval Chief who rode the Johnsville Centrifuge over 350 times and who personally helped to train the Mercury astronauts will be available to meet attendees and share his stories.
 
“We are thrilled to be a part of the Tricentennial festivities at Warminster Day this year,’ said Michael Maguire, President of the museum. “In its day NADC was the largest employer in the county where many important technical developments were made. We feel it fitting that we will be exhibiting these artifacts at an event that is taking place on the old runway of the facility. We are especially thankful to the Pax River Museum for the loan of these artifacts as well as to NASA and Dr. Schmiedekamp for generously agreeing to be a part of this event. It will be quite a day.”

Mre informaiton about Warminster Day can be found here: Warminster Day Website

“Iron Maiden” Used to Set Standing World Record Comes Home

An important research tool once used to test theories about submerging the human body in water to lessen the effects of G forces encountered during space flight is returning to Bucks County after a 15 year absence.

Flashback… On December 7, 1958 Bucks County native and research scientist R. Flanagan Gray climbed inside a full body enclosure that looked like something out of a Jules Verne novel. Resembling a cast aluminum deep sea diving suit, Gray’s “Iron Maiden” was unique in many ways. One was that it was designed to keep water in. Another was that it was designed to be attached to largest and most powerful human centrifuge the world has ever seen.

After donning a special mask and goggles designed for high-g’s Gray submerged himself in the water that filled the tank and inserted a breathing tube in his mouth. He took a deep breath and held it. With a nod of his head, he signaled that he was ready for his research associates to take the world renowned Johnsville Centrifuge to it’s maximum. The ride eventually took Gray to 31.25 Gs sustained for approximately 5 seconds. By the time the run was over, Gray was exhuasted, quite worse for wear and a world record holder. Since then, noone has attempted to match his extraordinary feat.

Located, at the Johnsville Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster, PA, the centrifuge, known in the day as Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory (AMAL) was one of 31 laboratories on the base. When NADC was shuttered in 1996, the Iron Maiden was moved to the Naval Air base at Patuxent River, MD and placed on display at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. The important artifact is now on loan to the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum for the next two years. Following the arrival of the Mercury 7 Gondola this past May, the Iron Maiden is the second major artifact of historical importance to be brought home to Bucks County by the museum.

The Iron Maiden will be on public display at the Bucks County Visitors Center at 3207 Street Road, Bensalem from August 31 through September 23.

“We are excited to bring this important piece of history back to Bucks County,” said Michael Maguire, President of the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum. “The centrifuge was one of the many labs at NADC where pioneering technology that touches our everyday life was developed. Once you see the Iron Maiden and imagine being sealed inside of it, you can’t help but be amazed by the dedication of all the scientists and engineers at NADC. We are thrilled that the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum is loaning this artifact to us. ”

Below is the text of an editorial that appeared in the Daily Intelligencer on Monday, May 9, 2011.

History made here

America’s space program has roots in Warminster

IT WAS ALL so new then, so unfamiliar, so much like something out of Capt. Video: On May 5, 1961 – 50 years ago – astronaut Alan B. Shepard, one of the original seven U.S. astronauts, became the first American in outer space.

The Russians had beaten us to manned flight – Yuri Gagarin did it in April of that year – just as they had shocked the United States and the world years earlier with the launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite.

By comparison, Gagarin’s ride – a 108-minute orbital trip – made Shepard’s 15-minute suborbital journey seem like a walk across the street.

Nevertheless, Shepard was hailed as a national hero with parades in several cities. President John F. Kennedy awarded him a medal. More importantly, Shepard’s “foot in the space door” launched America’s manned space program, which eventually overtook the Soviet Union’s and culminated with the first moon landing, Apollo 11, in July 1969. Shepard himself would walk on the moon in 1971 as the commander of Apollo 14.

Shepard retired from NASA in 1974 and died of leukemia on July 21, 1998, 21 years to the day after the first moon walk. Though he’ll never be forgotten as America’s first space pioneer, he’s back in the news for a couple of reasons.

Last week, the U.S. Postal Service issued a first-class stamp in Shepard’s honor.

And in an event much closer to home, the original centrifuge gondola that Shepard trained in during Project Mercury was returned to Warminster Township, where the former Johnsville Naval Air Development Center once was home to the world’s largest human centrifuge. The arrival of the gondola on May 5 coincided with the 50th anniversary of Shepard’s first flight.

Many other astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs came to the NADC to ride the gondola and experience the effects of high G-forces that they would later be subjected to during launches.

After its days of spinning astronauts were over, the gondola became part of the collection at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington. But its place at the Smithsonian for well over four decades – in an outside storage yard, away from public view – hardly did proper justice to such a key contributor to the U.S. space program.

According to the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum website, the return of the gondola to its home in Warminster is part of the Save Our History campaign sponsored by The History Channel.
Eventually, the gondola will be displayed at the centrifuge building.

That our early astronauts prepared for their journeys right in our own backyard is not a particularly well-known chapter in the story of America’s space program. The centrifuge gondola’s homecoming is a good reason to learn about the role Bucks County played in the nation’s early exploration of the final frontier.

After spending the last 47 years safely stored at the National Air & Space Museum’s Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland, the original gondola of the Johnsville Centrifuge will be coming home to Warminster on May 5th, the 50th anniversary of Alan Shepard’s historic flight. The gondola’s return is being made possible as the result of a grant from History Channel in partnership with Comcast as part of the network’s Save Our History® campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education.

The festivities are set to include a “Welcome Home” ceremony at 12:45 PM on May 5th at the Bucks County Visitor’s Center at 3207 Street Road in Bensalem (in front of the PARX casino). The gondola will be at the Visitors Center between Noon and 2. At 2PM the gondola will head up Street Road under police escort and will work its way to the Penn State Anechoic Chamber located on Bristol Road at the Warminster Community Park where it will be offloaded.

Everyone is invited to come out and witness this historic occasion. Tell your friends and have them come out too. Keep an eye out for more details in the coming days.

TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE
FOR OUR SECOND ANNUAL SPRING GALA:
SAT., MAY 14TH 2011 AT THE VE CLUB

Renown Astronomer Derrick Pitts to Provide Comments on Importance of Science Education

Program will also feature Special Q&A Session
with Retired Naval Corpsman
who Helped Train Mercury Astronauts

We are happy to announce that Derrick Pitts, the Chief Astronomer and Director of the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute will be providing comments at our event. Derrick’s father worked at NADC and inspired Derrick’s interest in space and science at a young age. Derrick is well known in the Philadelphia region for his work on WHYY and WXPN-FM an is recognized nationally for his many appearances on show like The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Newton’s Apple. We are thrilled to welcome Derrick to our event.

In addition, retired Naval Corpsman Art Guntner will be featured in a special Q&A session. In what promises to be an extraordinary oral history, Art will recount his days in the Navy where one of his assignments was as an Aerospace Medicine Technician at the Johnsville Centrifuge. While stationed at Johnsville, Art flew over 350 simulations in the centrifuge and was personally involved in briefing and training the Mercury Astronauts.  

Our Second Annual Spring Gala will be held on Saturday, May 14 from 6 to 11 PM at the VE Club at 130 Davisville Road in Warminster, PA. Tickets are $60 each and include your choice of Filet Mignon or Salmon. Tables of 8 are available. Tickets can be purchased by contacting nadcmuseum@comcast.net or by calling 267-250-8841. We look forward to seeing you at this very special event.

Renown Astronomer Derrick Pitts will speak at the Second Annual Spring Gala

c1960, Art Guntner (left) assists John Glenn after a flight in the Johnsville Centrifuge

The Johnsville Centrifuge & Science Museum will reopen on April 17th and will be open on the first and third Sunday of each month between 1 and 3:30 PM.  We look forward to this year as we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Alan Shepard’s historic flight in May and take part in the year long celebration of Warminster’s tricentennial.  Looking forward to next February, we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of John Glenn’s orbital mission.  The Bucks County connection is cannot be understated as the American astronauts endured grueling training sessions on the world famous Johnsville Centrifuge right here in Warminster, PA until just before their missions.

We also have an exhibit of the Mercury Program currently on display at the Warminster Township Parks and Recreation office at 1101 Little Lane in Warminster as part of our own contribution to 100 years of Naval Aviation and Warminster’s Tricentennial.  The exhibit tells the story of the technology and people behind our nation’s early space exploration efforts as well as marking President Kennedy’s speech that put Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on a trajectory to where no man had gone before.  It also commemorates the service members, workers and contractors who played a part in our success as a nation by contributing their services at the Naval Air Development Center.  Stop in and check it out when you are in the area.

Plans are underway for our Second Annual Spring Gala which will be held on Saturday, May 14 at the VE Club.  Details are on our home page at www.nadcmuseum.org.  We hope you come out to for a fun night to support us.  We look forward to seeing all of our friends at the Gala and at the museum as we kick off another great season.    

Finally, we recently were granted approval from the Smithsonian Institute to bring the original gondola that was used for training the Mercury astronauts back to Warminster.   We’ll have more details on the move soon.

We are happy to be part of this years Scarecrow Contest at Peddlers Village in Lahaska. If you get a chance to visit Peddlers Village this fall, make sure to stop by and see “Neil Armstraw” on the main village green. You can vote for your favorite scarecrow up until September 30. Follow the link to http://www.buckshappening.com/scarecrow-contest-2010 and click on the box next to Neil Armstraw.

It has been 10 months since The Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum introduced its vision to the public. Our April open house, which featured Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter, was a great success and allowed us to present our goal of providing a first class science and engineering education center to the community. These plans have inspired dozens of volunteers to join us and prompted thousands of dollars in donations.

The museum immediately began its work and cleared the building of debris and has undertaken its first major construction project by removing 42 tons of concrete from the ceiling. Dedicated researchers have uncovered many exciting facts about the center and their exploration of the building discovered a few significant artifacts such as some original Mercury era couches and the “Mayo Tank”. We have retained an architect and a model maker who have produced exciting ideas for the use of the space. We have partnered with many organizations such as the Bucks County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Warminster Tricentennial Committee. We look forward to the months and years ahead as we forge our role as an integral part of the community.

We have discovered some of the extraordinary expenses involved in this and for all our successes we also experienced limitations this winter as we were unable to provide heat for our Sunday tours. I am very proud of our dedicated volunteers who endured cold temperatures while continuing to give of their time.

As is the case with many non-profit organizations, The Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum has been impacted by the current economic climate. We receive no federal or state funding, and are wholly reliant on revenue from attendance at museum events, contributions from the public at large and donations from local businesses. We certainly appreciate the generosity of our current supporters however we have reached a critical point in our short existence and are in danger of not fulfilling our goals. We are making an appeal to the public and local businesses to help us. We believe that the Johnsville Centrifuge and the legacy of NADC’s technological innovation is worth saving. From the reactions of visitors, we know it is important to the community as well. Contributions of any size are appreciated. We would also like to find major donors and local businesses that are able to take a leadership role and help us succeed in our mission of creating a world class museum to inspire our youth to pursue an education in science and technology. If you are able to help, please contact me personally at mmaguire@nadcmuseum.org or call me at 267-250-8841. Thank you.

Mike Maguire
President, Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum

P.S. We welcome the public to support us by attending our March 27th X-15 Event, our April 7th Apollo 13 40th Anniversary Event, or our May 7th Gala.

Special thanks go out to the Greater Bucks Mont Chamber of Commerce for inviting me to speak at their luncheon yesterday.  It is always exciting to share the mission of the museum with the local business community.  Afterwards, a gentleman approached me and told me that he used to farm the land on the other side of the railroad tracks from the base (where the industrial park along Louis Lane is now).  He still remembers the day the monkeys escaped from the animal wing and took up residence in his barn. He also told me that he remembers the noise of the riveting from the factory and the roar of the Brewster Buffaloes as they took off from the strip near the factory.  His sister was even a receptionist at Brewster.  

If you or a family member has stories from days working at Brewster or NADC/NAWC we’d love to hear them and get them on record as part of our oral history.  Please contact us at nadcmuseum@comcast.net.