Coca-Cola Space Science Center Receives Historic Shuttle Prototype

On March 9, 2016 Columbus State University’s Coca-Cola Space Science Center received a quarter-scale prototype of the Enterprise space shuttle. The arrival of the shuttle to the Columbus Airport came two years after the CCSSC won the bid for the artifact from NASA in 2014. The CCSSC’s Executive Director, Shawn Cruzen, will be overseeing the project for CSU.

Of groups bidding on the prototype, CSU won the bid because the CCSSC is “tied to a university and [the shuttle display] would be a part of the academic programs at CSU,” said Cruzen. While CSU’s setup was a draw for the bid, the artifact itself is also unique in a historical sense.

The shuttle prototype’s place in history began in 1974, where it was designed to perform what is known as ground vibration testing. This vibration come from the way shuttles are launched. “On launch, the shuttle experienced a ridiculous amount of force, over seven million pounds of thrust,” said Cruzen. “This generated a lot of thrust, a lot of vibration. All of that had to be tested to make sure that the space shuttle would hold together. “As a result of the need to test take-off prototypes as close to reality as possible, the quarter-scale prototype was built.

CSU’s acquisition of the artifact is also unique in its own right. The Enterprise prototype is “the only space shuttle artifact that” has every piece together, and “that has historical providence. All of those pieces were used together in a phase of the actual shuttle program.” This makes the eventual installation of particular importance for CSU’s engineering program, according to Cruzen.

Regarding plans for the shuttle at CSU, “They [NASA] wanted to keep the engineering prototype legacy of this artifact alive. They didn’t want somebody to set it up and paint it to look like a fake real shuttle. It is its own artifact, it had its own history and role in the space program. So we’re going to tell the story of this artifact, this prototype,” said Cruzen.

Despite the importance to CSU’s own academic programs, the CCSSC is “an informal science facility,” meaning they teach the public as well as CSU’s students. This includes K-12 students and curious members of the community at large.

While CSU has received all of the pieces of the shuttle prototype, the display will not be open for “at least three years,” said Cruzen. The delay is due to the need for funding to build a facility to house the project. Depending on how the artifact is displayed, the cost could be from $2.5 million to $6 million.

Illustration by Noah Sachs