The Space Mirror Memorial, which forms part of the larger Astronauts Memorial, is a National Memorial on the grounds of the

John F. Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

Visitor Complex on

Merritt Island, Florida Merritt Island is a peninsula, commonly referred to as an island, in Brevard County, Florida, United States, located on the eastern Florida coast, along the Atlantic Ocean. It is also the name of an unincorporated town in the central and south ...

. It is maintained by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation (AMF), whose offices are located in the NASA Center for Space Education next door to the Visitor Complex. The memorial was designed in 1987 by Holt Hinshaw Pfau Jones, and dedicated on May 9, 1991, to remember the lives of the men and women who have died in the various space programs of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, particularly those of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

. The Astronauts Memorial has been designated by the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

"as the national memorial to astronauts who die in the line of duty" (Joint Resolution 214, 1991). In addition to 20 NASA career

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

s, the memorial includes the names of a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

X-15 The North American X-15 is a Hypersonic speed, hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft which was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the List of X-planes, X-plane series of ...

test pilot, a U.S. Air Force officer who died while training for a then-classified military space program, a civilian

spaceflight participant Spaceflight participant () is the term used by NASA, Roscosmos, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for people who travel into space, but are not professional astronauts. While the term gained new prominence with the rise of space touris ...

who died in the ''Challenger'' disaster, and an Israeli astronaut who was killed in the ''Columbia'' disaster. In July 2019, the AMF unanimously voted to include private astronauts on the memorial, recognizing the important contributions made to the American space program by private spaceflight crew members. The first private astronaut to be added to the wall was

Scaled Composites Scaled Composites (often called simply Scaled) is an American aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman. It is located at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, United States. Founded to d ...

pilot Michael T. Alsbury, who died in the crash of

SpaceShipTwo The Scaled Composites Model 339 SpaceShipTwo (SS2) was an air-launched suborbital spaceplane type designed for space tourism. It was manufactured by The Spaceship Company, a California-based company owned by Virgin Galactic. SpaceShipTwo was ...

VSS ''Enterprise'' on October 31, 2014. His name was added to the memorial on January 25, 2020.

Memorial elements

The primary feature of the memorial is the Space Mirror, a flat expanse of polished black granite, 42.5 feet high by 50 feet wide (), divided into 90 smaller panels. The names of the 25 astronauts who have died are scattered over the mirror, with names of astronauts who died in the same incident grouped on the same panel, or pairs of adjacent panels. The names are cut completely through the surface, exposing a translucent backing, and filled with translucent acrylic, which is then backlit with LED lights, causing the names to glow, and appear to float in a reflection of the sky. Near the Space Mirror is a granite wall, bearing pictures and brief biographies of those listed on the Mirror. The Space Mirror Memorial was designed by Wes Jones of Holt Hinshaw Pfau Jones and was commissioned after he won an international design competition.

Defunct Sun tracking mechanism

The memorial as built incorporated motors and

jackscrew A jackscrew, or screw jack, is a type of jack that is operated by turning a leadscrew. It is commonly used to lift moderate and heavy weights, such as vehicles; to raise and lower the horizontal stabilizers of aircraft; and as adjustable suppor ...

s to constantly track the Sun across the sky in both pan and tilt axes. Parabolic reflectors on the back side of the mirror would then direct the sunlight through the acrylic panels to brilliantly illuminate the honorees' names with sunlight. Supplemental floodlights were used when the sunlight was inadequate. In 1997, the tracking system failed, allowing part of the monument to strike a steel beam on an adjacent platform. Insurance paid $375,000 for repair work, but later, the mechanism again ground to a halt, due to further problems with the slewing ring.Ash, J.: "Memorial Repairs Delayed Indefinitely", ''Florida Today'', January 23, 2001. Estimated cost of repairs was around $700,000, and the Astronauts Memorial Foundation unanimously decided the money would be better spent on educational programs instead. The floodlights were repositioned and are kept burning 24 hours a day to illuminate the memorial.

Memorial funding

The Space Mirror Memorial cost $6.2 million. The memorial was to be partially funded by the sales of " Space Shots" trading cards. An agreement was made for 25% of Space Shots profits, in exchange for guaranteeing a $160,000 loan. A projected $400,000 was owed to the Foundation, which was never paid. The Space Mirror Memorial and the Astronauts Memorial Foundation are funded in part by a specialty

vehicle registration plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...

issued by the state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Called the ''Challenger'' plate, it was first issued in 1987, and was the first specialty plate issued by the state. The third edition, introduced in 2004, includes ''Columbia'' in the text, and is now termed the ''Challenger/Columbia'' plate. License plates brought in $377,000 in 2009. One quarter of the revenue from the

Apollo 11 Fiftieth Anniversary commemorative coins The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary commemorative coins were issued by the United States Mint in 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first crewed landing on the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Consisting of a ...

will go to the Astronauts Memorial Foundation.

Honorees

Only those killed during

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

missions or during training for such missions sponsored by the United States are eligible for inclusion in the memorial. For a comprehensive list of space disasters, see

List of space disasters This article lists verifiable spaceflight-related accidents and incidents resulting in human death or serious injury. These include incidents during flight or training for crewed space missions and testing, assembly, preparation, or flight of ...

. The people honored on the memorial are: *

Theodore Freeman Theodore Cordy Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964), was an American aeronautical engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. Selected in the third group of NASA astronauts in 1963, he was killed a year later ...

, one of the

NASA Astronaut Group 3 NASA Astronaut Group 3 (nicknamed "The Fourteen") was a group of fourteen astronauts selected by NASA for the Project Gemini, Gemini and Apollo program. Their selection was announced in October 1963. Seven were from the United States Air Force, ...

recruits from 1963, died in a

T-38 T38 or T-38 may refer to: Aviation * Allison T38, an American turboprop aircraft engine * Northrop T-38 Talon, an American jet trainer aircraft * Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper, a British training glider Other uses * T38 (classification), a disabi ...

training accident on October 31, 1964. *

Elliot See Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) was an American engineer, United States naval aviator, naval aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut. See received an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1945. H ...

and

Charles Bassett Charles Arthur "Charlie" Bassett II (December 30, 1931 – February 28, 1966) (Major, USAF) was an American electrical engineer and United States Air Force test pilot. He went to Ohio State University for two years and later graduated from Tex ...

were killed in a T-38 accident on February 28, 1966, when their aircraft crashed into McDonnell Building 101 on a foggy day. They were originally slated to be the crew of

Gemini 9 Gemini 9A (officially Gemini IX-A) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the seventh crewed Gemini flight, the 15th crewed American fligh ...

. Bassett was another Group 3 recruit, whereas See was an

Astronaut Group 2 NASA Astronaut Group 2 (nicknamed the "Next Nine" and the "New Nine") was the second group of astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Their selection was announced on September 17, 1962. The group augmen ...

recruit from 1962. *

Gus Grissom Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was an American engineer and pilot in the United States Air Force, as well as one of the original Mercury Seven selected by the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration fo ...

, Ed White, and

Roger Chaffee Roger Bruce Chaffee (; February 15, 1935 – January 27, 1967) was an American naval officer, aviator and aeronautical engineer who was a NASA astronaut in the Apollo program. Chaffee was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he became an Eag ...

were in the

Apollo 1 Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was planned to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbital ...

capsule for plugs-out test on January 27, 1967, when a short circuit ignited flammable materials in the pressurized pure-oxygen atmosphere. The astronauts died of carbon monoxide poisoning before ground crews could reach them. Grissom, one of the

Mercury Seven The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959: Scott ...

astronauts, had flown twice before. White conducted the first US

spacewalk Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environme ...

Gemini 4 Gemini 4 (officially Gemini IV) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the second crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini, occurring in June 1965. It was the tenth crewed American spaceflight (in ...

. Chaffee, a rookie, was a Group 3 recruit. * Clifton Williams died in a T-38 training crash on October 5, 1967. Another Group 3 recruit, he was in the Apollo astronaut rotation, and would have been on the crew of

Apollo 12 Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Charles ...

. He was also memorialized by a fourth star on the official Apollo 12 mission patch. *

Michael J. Adams Michael James Adams (May 5, 1930 – November 15, 1967) ( Maj USAF) was an American aviator, aeronautical engineer, and USAF astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated ...

died in an

crash on November 15, 1967. He was not a NASA astronaut recruit, but made the memorial by virtue of having earned the

Astronaut Badge United States astronaut badges are the various badges of the United States which are awarded to military and civilian personnel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the various child departments of the Department of Defense, ...

according to the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

standard by reaching just over 50 miles in altitude on his fatal flight. He was also in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Manned Orbiting Laboratory The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) was part of the United States Air Force (USAF) human spaceflight program in the 1960s. The project was developed from early USAF concepts of crewed space stations as reconnaissance satellites, and was a succ ...

program. *

Robert H. Lawrence Jr. Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. (October 2, 1935 – December 8, 1967) was a United States Air Force officer and the List of African-American firsts, first African-American who was List of African-American astronauts, chosen to be an astronaut.

, died on December 8, 1967, when the

F-104 The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic Interceptor aircraft, interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air ...

he was in as an instructor pilot for a flight test trainee crashed and his ejection seat parachute failed to open. He was in the

program at the time, and could have been among the first African-American astronauts had he survived to take NASA's offer for all under-35 MOL candidates to join their space program when MOL was scrapped in 1969. * On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff on mission

STS-51-L STS-51-L was the disastrous 25th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the final flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. It was planned as the first Teacher in Space Project flight in addition to observing Halley's Comet for six day ...

due to a defect in one of the solid rocket boosters. All seven crew members— Francis "Dick" Scobee,

Michael J. Smith Michael John Smith (April 30, 1945 – January 28, 1986), (Capt USN) was an American engineer and astronaut. He served as the pilot of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission, breaking up 73 seconds ...

Ronald McNair Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died at the age of 35 during the launch of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of th ...

Gregory Jarvis Gregory Bruce Jarvis (August 24, 1944 – January 28, 1986) was an American engineer and astronaut who died during the January 28, 1986 destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, where he was serving as payload spec ...

Judith Resnik Judith Arlene Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. She was the fourth woman, ...

Ellison Onizuka was an American astronaut, engineer, and U.S. Air Force flight test engineer from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' on STS-51-C. He died in the destruction of the Space Shuttle ''Cha ...

, and

Christa McAuliffe Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire who died on the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, where she was serving as a payloa ...

—died. Scobee, McNair, Resnik, and Onizuka had flown before. Resnik was the second American woman in space, after

Sally Ride Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts V ...

. McAuliffe was participating via the Teacher in Space Project. * M. L. "Sonny" Carter died on April 5, 1991, in the crash of

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 was a regularly scheduled commuter flight in Georgia in the southeastern United States, from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Glynco Jetport (since renamed Brunswick Golden Isles Airp ...

. Carter was a passenger traveling on NASA business. He had flown on

STS-33 STS-33 was a NASA Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle mission and the 9th flight of Discovery, during which Space Shuttle Discovery, Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' deployed a payload for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It was the 3 ...

and was in training for

STS-42 STS-42 was a NASA Space Shuttle Space Shuttle Discovery, ''Discovery'' mission with the Spacelab module. Liftoff was originally scheduled for 8:45 Eastern Time Zone, EST (13:45 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC) on January 22, 1992, but the launc ...

at the time. * On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated on re-entry at the end of mission

STS-107 STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th(twenty eigth) and final flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The mission ended on the 1st of February 2003, with the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster which killed al ...

due to damage during ascent. The crew was

Rick Husband Richard Douglas Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and fighter pilot. He traveled into space twice: as pilot of STS-96 and commander of STS-107. Husband and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed whe ...

William C. McCool William Cameron "Willie" McCool (born William Cameron Graham September 23, 1961 – February 1, 2003) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, who was the pilot of Space Shuttle ''Col ...

David M. Brown David McDowell Brown (April 16, 1956 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Navy captain and NASA astronaut. He died on his first spaceflight, when the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' (STS-107) disintegrated during orbital reentry into the Earth' ...

Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space. Chawla expressed an interest in aerospace engineering from an early age and took engi ...

Michael P. Anderson Michael Phillip Anderson (December 25, 1959 – February 1, 2003) was a United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. He and his six fellow crew members were killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster ...

Laurel Clark Laurel Blair Clark (née Salton; March 10, 1961 – February 1, 2003) was an American NASA astronaut, medical doctor, United States Navy captain, and Space Shuttle mission specialist. She died along with her six fellow crew members in the Space ...

and

Ilan Ramon Ilan Ramon (; , born Ilan Wolfferman (); June 20, 1954 – February 1, 2003) was an Israeli fighter pilot and later the first Israeli astronaut. He served as a Space Shuttle payload specialist on STS-107, the fatal mission of '' Columbia ...

. Husband, Chawla and Anderson were veterans. Ramon was a pilot in the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

. *On October 31, 2014,

broke apart during its fourth powered flight, killing co-pilot Michael T. Alsbury and severely injuring the pilot. Both were flying for

on a mission for

Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is a British-American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group conglomerate, which retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, and opera ...

Astronauts Memorial Foundation

The Astronauts Memorial Foundation was founded shortly (summer of 1986) after the Challenger disaster (January 28, 1986) by architect Alan Helman, then Congressman and astronaut Bill Nelson, Leland McKee, business director, Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), Randy Berridge, executive with AT&T, Florida Governor Bob Graham, Ralph Turlington, Florida Commissioner of Education, Senator and Astronaut Jake Garn and other Central Florida and national leaders. On September 4, 1986, Alan Helman and Leland McKee were presented a resolution by Governor Bob Graham and the Florida cabinet fully endorsing the efforts of The Astronauts Memorial Foundation. This included fundraising efforts of the 67 county Challenger Run Walk a Thon and specialty license plate. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation license plate, designed by artist Robert McCall, was Florida’s first vanity plate sold starting in December 1986. The automobile license plate went on raising millions for educational purposes in the State of Florida. Other educational efforts continue to this day. The president of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation was

Stephen Feldman Stephen Feldman (born 11 September 1944) is an American academic, and was the third president of Nova Southeastern University in 1992 and served until 1994. He was the president of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation from 1999 to 2012. Feldman se ...

from 1999 to 2012. He was paid $303,000 annually. This was criticized as being the highest among 100 of Brevard County non-profits. His salary represented 18.3 percent of the fund's $1.8 million budget in fiscal year 2009. He defended his salary by saying that he was the sole fundraiser and the chief financial officer for the foundation. Thad Altman became President and CEO of the Astronauts Memorial Foundation in August 2012. The Board of Directors include Eileen Collins - Chairman, Jack Kirschenbaum - Vice Chairman, Gregory H. Johnson - Treasurer, Sheryl L. Chaffee - Secretary.

Gallery

Image:Amf space mirror dedication.png, Space Mirror dedication Image:Amf dignity memorial.png, The Dignity Memorial Image:Space Mirror memorial 2003 2.jpg, The Space Mirror at sunset Image:Astronaut memorial.jpg, The entrance to the Space Mirror Memorial

References

External links

* Map:
The Astronauts Memorial Foundation
official website * ''Places of Commemoration: Search for Identity and Landscape Design'', Volume 19, Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn, Dumbarton Oaks, 2001, pages 185-214. . * ''Congressional Record'', 30 April 1991, page 9600, H2578-79. Joint Resolution 214.

{{NASA space program, state=collapsed History of spaceflight Human spaceflight Space program fatalities Space Shuttle program Mirrors Monuments and memorials in Florida Tourist attractions in Brevard County, Florida Merritt Island, Florida 1991 sculptures Buildings and structures in Merritt Island, Florida Granite sculptures in Florida 1991 establishments in Florida National memorials of the United States Kalpana Chawla Monuments and memorials to explorers Gus Grissom Ed White (astronaut) Astronauts in art