Brent Schmidt of Turon is reflected in the glass that surrounds the Liberty Bell 7 as he looks inside the spacecraft Saturday at the Kansas State Fair. The space capsule, salvaged form the bottom the Atlantic Ocean in 1999, has returned to Hutchinson where it will be on permanent display at the Kansas Cosmosphere.
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Fairgoers walk past the Liberty Bell 7 Saturday at the Kansas State Fair. The space capsule, salvaged form the bottom the Atlantic Ocean in 1999, has returned to Hutchinson where it was restored and will be on permanent display at the Kansas Cosmosphere.
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Dale Capps, right, of Spaceworks' restoration team unveils the Liberty Bell 7 in the Oz Gallery building Friday, Sept. 15, 2006, at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kan. The capsule will be displayed at the fair until Sunday and then permanently at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kan.
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Fair goers look at the Liberty Bell 7 space capsule in the Oz Gallery building Friday, Sept. 15, 2006, at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kan. The capsule will be displayed at the fair until Sunday and then permanently at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kan.
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Clockwise from left, stained glass artists Craig Green, David Strouse, Caleb Wilson and Tiffany Rayer clean cement from the seams of one of three stained glass panels that pay tribute to astronauts who have lost their lives during NASA missions at Beardens Stained Glass in Wichita, Kan. Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2005. The finished eight by twelve foot piece, titled "Tribute to the Fallen Astronauts," will be installed in the museum entrance at the Kansas Cosmosphere in mid February. It has taken 19 volunteer artists four years to complete the project.
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Caleb Wilson uses a buffer to clean cement from the seams of one of three stained glass panels that pay tribute to astronauts who have lost their lives during NASA missions at Beardens Stained Glass Co. in Wichita, Kan. Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2005. The finished eight by twelve foot piece, titled "Tribute to the Fallen Astronauts," will be installed in the museum entrance at the Kansas Cosmosphere in mid February. It has taken 19 volunteer artists four years to complete the project.
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Former astronaut, James A. Lovell, Jr. stands on a ladder next to Gemini 12, at Space Works Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005, in Hutchinson, Kan. Lovell, who flew and was in the craft for four days in 1966, had not seen it nearly 20 years.
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Camp counselors with the Kansas Cosomosphere's Future Astronaut Training Program Travis Lechtenberg, left, Daniel Bernasconi, Lacey Hull and Bret Kirkland watch the liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery. About 200 people gathered at the Cosmosphere to watch the shuttle takeoff.
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Daniel Bateman, community outreach manager with the Kansas Cosmosphere, watches the Space Shuttle Discovery moments before its successful liftoff. About 200 people gathered at the Kansas Cosmosphere to watch the shuttle takeoff. Bateman presented an educational program about the shuttle and NASA to the group. He said it was the most memorable liftoff he's ever witnessed.
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Teresa Sindelar, camp programs manager with the Kansas Cosomosphere's Future Astronaut Training Program, cheers after the successful liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery. About 200 people gathered at the Cosmosphere to watch the shuttle takeoff.
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Former NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter visited the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson Friday, June 17, 2005.
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Former NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter stops to view some of the items on display on his visit to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson on Friday, June 17, 2005.
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Jim Remar, Vice-President of Museum Operations at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kan., talks Wednesday, June 15, 2005, about one of the newest features of the Mollett Early Spaceflight Gallery that opens to the pubic Saturday. The replica of the Launch Complex 19 allows visitors to experience what it felt like to be at the launch site of the Gemini mission in 1965. The Cosmosphere's new 4,000 square foot gallery features artifacts and technology from the United States and Russian space race.
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The Mercury capsule in the Mollett Early Spaceflight Gallery at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson on Friday, June 10, 2005.
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Amanda Bailey, of Rose Hill, an intern form W.S.U. works on the replica of an ejected pilot from the Russian Vostek program in the Mollett Early Spaceflight Gallery at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson on Friday, June 10, 2005.
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Jack Graber works on the lighting under the stairs leading up to the Mollett Early Spaceflight Gallery at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson on Friday, June 10, 2005.
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Kiersten Latham, collections manager, works on the Gemini display at the Mollett Early Spaceflight Gallery at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson on Friday, June 10, 2005.
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Gwen Fex from Canada, visiting the Cosmosphere for the first time, looks over the Apollo 13 display April 7, 2005.
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An Apollo 17 space suit hangs at the Kansas Cosmosphere, on the front are several colored fittings. (April 7, 2005.)
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This Omega watch was worn by Allen Shepard during his 1971 Apollo mission to the moon. (April 7, 2005.)
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A Minolta exposure meter on display at the Kansas Cosmosphere was flown on the Apollo 17 mission. (April 7, 2005)
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Hundreds of mission items for manned space flight are display at the Kansas Cosmosphere. The museum has over 12,000 items either on display or in storage. (April 7, 2005.)
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A crew shirt (top) worn by Commander Tom Stafford during the Apollo Soyuz mission and an inflight jacket from a Skylab mission worn by Pete Conrad on display at the Kansas Cosmosphere. (April 7, 2005)
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The Kansas Cosmosphere has in its collection the cuff checklist worn by Commander Gene Cernan during the third and final visit to the moon. President Bush used Cernan's words in his speech Jan. 14, 2004.
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Kansas Cosmosphere staff members watch President Bush deliver his proposal for the space program Jan. 14, 2004.
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Jim Remar, director of collections and restorations at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kan., works on the original Gemini VI capsule Dec. 23, 2003. The capsule, flown by astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford in 1965, was the first orbiter to complete a docking maneuver with another spacecraft and paved the way for the first lunar mission. Gemini VI had been on exhibit in St. Louis before being sent to the Cosmosphere for restoration.
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Jim Remar, director of collections and restorations at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kan., works on the original Gemini VI capsule Dec. 23, 2003. The capsule, flown by astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford in 1965, was the first orbiter to complete a docking maneuver with another spacecraft and paved the way for the first lunar mission. Gemini VI had been on exhibit in St. Louis before being sent to the Cosmosphere for restoration.
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Scott Setchell of Exploration Place, tightens the lifts attached to the trailer carrying an 18-foot long jet engine from a SR-71 Blackbird which is part of the new Centennial of Powered Flight exhibit at Exploration Place. The huge engine is on loan from the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. (Dec. 10, 2003.)
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Workers at Exploration Place move one of the engines out of the SR-71 Blackbird from the Kansas Cosmosphere. The engine weighs 6000 lbs. (Nov. 17, 2003.)
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Ken Smith right and Mike Conkling left at Exploration Place helps move one of the engines out of the SR-71 Blackbird from the Kansas Cosmosphere. The engine weighs 6000 lbs. (Nov. 17, 2003
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The Gemini 6 space capsule is lowered to a basement level at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson where it will be restored. (Oct. 2, 2003.)
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Kim Baumann guides the Gemini 6 space capsule as it is lowered to a basement level at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson where it will be restored. (Oct 2, 2003.)
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Seven-year-old Alisha Walters (left) and her brother Joshua Walters (right) play the "Be a Helicopter Pilot" simulator Saturday afternoon in the Liberty Bell 7 exhibit at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. The object is to try to lift a space capsule out of the water by directing a model helicopter. (Mar. 1, 2003)
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Marine helicopter pilot Jim Lewis (right) signs an autograph for Paul Lytle of Wichita Saturday afternoon at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. Lewis was the helicopter pilot who was forced to leave the flooded Liberty Bell 7 to fall to the ocean floor. (Mar. 1, 2003)
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High school student Dennis Gremillion (CQ), from Independence, Mo., looks at the restored Liberty Bell 7 capsule Saturday afternoon at the Kansas Cosmosphere. "We weren't sure if it would be worth it to come all this way, but they did a great job with the exhibit," he said. )Mar. 1, 2003)
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Randy Dill, right, and Jim Remar, left, both employees of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, help guide the LIberty Bell 7 space capsule into the building Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 19, 2003, in Hutchinson, Kan. The capsule, which was piloted by Astronaut Gus Grissom, sank to the ocean floor following his flight. In the background, is a Mercury Redstone rocket which is similiar to the same rocket that launched the Liberty Bell 7.
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Mike and Nancy McQueeny of Overland Park, watch as workers move the Liberty Bell 7 into the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Wednesday afternoon. (Feb 20, 2003)
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Members of two day Adult Astronaut Adeventure take a break and watch the news of the shuttle explosion at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. (Feb 1, 2003)
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Abby Row, 11, center left, and Kimberly Hoeld, 10, sign their thoughts and condolences for the space shuttle Columbia, mission STS-107, as Molly Row, 12, far left, and Anne Marie Fleming, 11, far right, look on at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003, in Hutchinson, Kan. The space shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas, killing all seven astronauts, just minutes before their scheduled landing in Florida.
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Space science educator Daniel Bateman entertained the crowd as pre-schoolers helped launch the Centennial Celebration of Flight at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson Tuesday. (Dec 17, 2002)
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Ryen Cox, 3, colors drawings of space craft as pre-schoolers helped launch the Centennial Celebration of Flight at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, (Dec. 17, 2002)
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Pre-schoolers helped launch the Centennial Celebration of Flight at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. (Dec. 17, 2002.)
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Tim Rowe, of Bonner Springs, Kan., reaches into a plexiglass box with gloved hands to participate in the restoration of a World War II vintage V-2 rocket at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson Thursday, Sep. 26, 2002. Rowe was participating in a week-long Elderhostel astronaut training program for seniors at the Cosmosphere.
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Connor Kingsbury, 4, peers into the nose cone of the SR-71 Blackbird airplane at pre-schoolers helped launch the Centennial Celebration of Flight at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. (Dec. 17, 2002.)
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Nellie DeBaker, of Luxemburg, Wi., checks out the guidance system section of a vintage World War II V-2 rocket at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson Thursday, SEP. 26, 2002. Debaker was participating in a week-long Elderhostel astronaut training program for seniors at the Cosmosphere, including an opportunity to assist in cleaning corrosion on some of the V-2 parts.
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Patty Carey, founder of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, stands in front of the mural dedicated in her honor at the space center in Hutchinson, Kan., Thursday, June 6, 2002. The beginnings of the Cosmosphere started when Carey and a couple of high school boys created a small planetarium in the Poultry building at the Kansas State Fair. Carey is featured twice in the mural, once as a young woman on the right and surrounded by young people on the left.
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These two bullets were found inside the V2 rocket that's being restored at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. (Oct. 23, 2001.)
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