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Wisconsin: Wisconsin Dells, Tommy Bartlett Exploratory has “The Right Stuff” for Space Travel Fans.639DellsOrbitron One of the newest additions the Exploratory is an exact replica of a Mercury Space Capsule, which represents the United State’s first manned spaceship.
 
Here's the scoop. For those interested in the wonders of space exploration, Exploratory in Wisconsin Dells will not disappoint. The capsule premiered during the historic Project Mercury missions that were designed to test sending humans into space and were the precursor to our eventual landing on the moon. Most people will remember that the Mercury program was the basis for the book and movie “The Right Stuff.”
   
Tommy Bartlett’s Mercury Space Capsule is an exact replica, built with NASA blueprints and specifications. It is compact; only 6-feet 10-inches long and 6-feet 2½-inches in diameter. That’s why only men who were no taller than 5 feet 11 inches and less than 180 pounds were considered to be astronauts for the program. The original group of astronauts chosen for the program was called the Mercury Seven and they served with NASA on missions from 1958 to 1963. They included: Scott Carpenter; L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.; John H. Glenn, Jr.; Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom; Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Fun fact:  Alan B. Shepard, Jr.; and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, who hailed from Sparta, Wisconsin, located north of Wisconsin Dells.

The capsule’s main function was to shield astronauts from the elements of space, particularly the extreme heat experienced during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.  The cone-shaped Mercury Capsule featured a thick heat shield on the bottom of the craft that could withstand 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit upon re-entry. The capsule would fall to Earth, a parachute helping slow its speed before it splashed into the ocean where NASA scientists and the U.S. Navy would come to rescue its pilot. Fun fact: There were 25 Mercury missions in all, six of them manned.  John Glenn’s mission on  February 20, 1962 was perhaps the most famous, as he was the first American astronaut to orbit  the Earth.
  
The Exploratory has also been able to acquire other items significant to advances in space travel, all housed together in one large building. One of the exception finds is an original Russian Space Station MIR Core Module that the company acquired in 1997.  By comparison to the Mercury pod, the MIR looms large at 43-feet long. 639DellsMir
 
Bartlett’s MIR module was one of only three manufactured and was intended to go into space. But the when the former Soviet Union broke apart, the MIR space program began to fizzle. The authentic replacement module was acquired for the Exploratory from a Russian museum. It is the only place on Earth where visitors can walk through the space station module and see how the core workings are set up. Because of its historical significance and authenticity, Bartlett’s MIR module was twice used as a backdrop for live reporting by CNN. First in 1997, when the MIR in space was hit by a supply ship and faced a risky repair mission, and then again in March 2001, when the aging spacecraft de-orbited from space and burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere.  Bonus points: The Exploratory also includes a replica of Sputnik I, the first satellite in space, as well as other space memorabilia and exhibits.

Tommy Bartlett Exploratory is open daily, year-round, and in addition to the displays on space exploration, offers more than 150 hands-on activities that delve into science, virtual reality, technology and good old-fashioned brain-teaser fun. The Exploratory is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during summer and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during fall, winter and spring. Tommy Bartlett's Robot World & Exploratory 701 Superior Street Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin 53965. Toll-free 1-800-223-3557, (608) 254-2525 or www.tommybartlett.com
 
Content and images provided by Tommy Bartlett Exploratory. Copyright 2010.


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