Gerry Feld: Making St. Cloud a destination for space lovers

I was excited to read the article, “Reaching for the sky” in the Wednesday, March 27, issue of the St. Cloud Times. The idea of bringing a full-size mock-up of the Space Shuttle to St. Cloud is something everyone in central Minnesota should be excited about. For many years people discussed what would make St. Cloud a destination sight for travelers, well that question could finally be answered.

Felicity-John Pederson, a 1977 graduate from Apollo High School and founder of LVX Systems headquartered in St. Cloud, acquired the full-size mock-up of the Space Shuttle named Inspiration in 2015. It currently sits at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but they want it moved to make way for construction.

As an inventor of high-tech equipment Pederson loves to see children get excited about technology, science and exploration of the future. With that in mind, he feels the mock orbiter would be a good fit for the Great River Children's Museum currently under construction on Seventh Avenue in St. Cloud. Luckily, there's a huge parking lot directly across the street where a shelter could be built to accommodate the exhibit.

However, none of this will come cheap. Just to dismantle the orbiter using large cranes, then shipping it to St. Cloud where it would need to be reassembled using heavy equipment, could cost nearly $1 million. To shield the orbiter from the elements before a permanent structure could be built, some type of temporary dome would be required. Estimates for that temporary dome come to nearly $500,000. Pederson says he's attempting to work with contractors who may be interested in working on the project which could possibly bring down costs. No doubt there are hundreds or maybe thousands of people who may be willing to donate money in a well-advertised capital campaign drive to help bring this project to completion.

When the permanent structure is designed architects should consider using individual bricks for the floor. These bricks would be engraved with names of donors who purchased each brick to help defray the cost of the project.

Realizing this will be a destination spot for travelers who wish to remember their visit, a well-designed entrance/gift and souvenir shop is a must. To make it even more interesting, a small theater built for 50-100 people could be attached to the gift shop that would have short reoccurring films about the Space Shuttle's history that would follow the walk-through of the orbiter. The best place to build the permanent structure on the parking lot would be on the southwest corner of Seventh Avenue and Division Street where it would be seen by thousands of passing motorists and travelers every day.

For sure bringing the orbiter to St. Cloud and building its venue is expensive, but it's just the thing that will put St. Cloud on the map in the tourist industry. The closest Shuttle to St. Cloud is in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. True that one has actually flown missions, but Pederson says this mock up is incredibly realistic with all the identical switches and gauges as an actual Shuttle. No doubt once the exhibit is open to the public incredible numbers of people would drive to St. Cloud rather than driving thousands of miles to an expensive major metropolitan area like Washington.

As St. Cloud is already home to an actual Apollo Spacecraft near the front entrance of Apollo High School, a visitors brochure could highlight this monument offering travelers more than one space-related venue to visit while in our city. This is a chance in a lifetime for St. Cloud to capitalize on tourist dollars that have never been available to us before.

I commend Mr. Pederson, State Senator Aric Putnam and Cassie Miles executive director of the Great River Children's Museum for having the vision and determination to bring this outstanding piece of history to central Minnesota. I encourage city planners and citizens alike to share their dreams and desires to make this marvelous project become a true reality.

— This is the opinion of Gerry Feld, whose column is published the second Sunday of the month. He writes about issues from a conservative perspective and is a published novelist.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Gerry Feld: Making St. Cloud a destination for space lovers