1978 Rockwell Plant Tour

Nov. 1978: Mock-up of space shuttle built in 1972 by North American Rockwell to help win Congressional approval of the Space Shuttle program.

In 1978, I toured of the Rockwell International plant in Downey, California. The plant was also known as the North American Rockwell facility.

In the 1960s, the Command and Service Modules of the Apollo program were built here. During my visit in the late 1970s, the plant was involved in the Space Shuttle program. Onsite was a full size mock-up of a Space Shuttle where simulated landings were run.

In 2012, the plastic and plywood mock-up was named 'Inspiration.' Currently, it's in storage in Downey.

During my visit, I was shooting wide open with a cheap Vivitar 28 mm wide angle lens. The resulting Tri-X film images are soft. But because of the historic value of the images, I went ahead and scanned, sharpened and cleaned up the images. Here are the results.

Link to full flickr album: 1978 Rockwell Plant Tour.

November 1978: Cockpit of space shuttle mock-uo in Downey, California.