Armstrong Hall becomes home to more space history
At a ceremony Friday, Oct. 18, 2013, in the Kurz Atrium of Armstrong Hall, representatives of Boeing Corp. joined Leah Jamieson, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering, in unveiling a replica of the X-20 Dyna-Soar space vehicle — a forerunner to the space shuttle.
The X-20 Dyna-Soar (Dynamic Soarer) space vehicle, reached the mockup stage. A team of pilots was training to fly it, including Purdue alumni and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Henry Gordon. It was part of a 1957-1963 U.S. Air Force program to develop an aircraft for a variety of purposes including reconnaissance, bombing, satellite maintenance and outer-space rescue. The research associated with the X-20 and other space planes, contributed to the development of the Space Shuttle.
The replica will be permanently housed in the Kurz Atrium. It's scheduled to be hung early next year near the Apollo 1 command module replica.