Sun Herald from Biloxi, Mississippi • C1

FRIDAY JUNE 24 2016 1CFACEBOOK.COM/SUNHERALD TWITTER.COM/SUNHERALDSUNHERALD.COM Insight CENSUS: ASIANS REMAINFASTEST-GROWING RACIALGROUP IN US, 3C NATION HANCOCK COUNTY is an incredible Apollo 13 astronaut and Biloxi native Fred Haise said Tuesday as the Saturn rocket that was to take him back to the moon was tugged up the canal, inched down In- terstate 10 at 3.5 miles an hour while traffic waited and hauled to its new and final home at Infinity Science Center. Haise said he used to be upset that he get to land on the moon in April 1970 when Apollo 13 was nearly lost in space and his second chance at a moon walk was dashed when the Apollo 19 mis- sion was canceled in Sep- tember 1970. Now made peace knowing he is one of 26 astronauts to ride a Saturn rocket into space. just proud and privileged to be part of he said. SATURN MATTERS This move of the Saturn rocket from the Michoud Assembly Facil- ity in New Orleans brings the last available and important piece of Apollo history to South Mis- sissippi, Haise said.

Since NASA canceled Apollo 18 and 19, the booster has been stored outside at Michoud. Now hoped the booster rocket will boost visitor counts at Infinity Science Center and tou- rism in South Mississippi, Haise said. When drivers see the huge rocket, he said, they stop that day, maybe stop coming already working, said John Wilson, Infinity executive director. A crowd turned out for ceremony after the rocket arrived at Infin- ity and before it was trekked to its final desti- nation on the west side of the building Thursday morning. stopped the car- rier at 8:13 this Wilson said that num- ber 13 again.

A man driv- ing by saw the 138-foot long, 33-foot in diameter rocket and told Wilson he just had to stop. FINAL COUNTDOWN The next step is a con- servation assessment of the rocket and Wilson estimates it will cost $1 million to restore it and $3 million for a building to protect it. we hope to do is display this booster in a way its never been dis- played he said. He envisions a glass building so it can be seen from the interstate, sever- al mezzanine levels so visitors can see it at dif- ferent heights and maybe a cutout so they can look inside. The Apollo 4 cap- sule, which was the first to ride atop the Saturn is at Stennis and will share the new building.

The state helped pay to move the rocket and a fund-raising effort is un- derway to help pay for the new building. The rocket has made the journey between Mi- choud and Stennis before. tested it 46 years said Rick Gilbrech, director of Stennis Space Center. Not all the employees in New Orleans were happy to see the rocket go, Bob- by Watkins, director of Michoud, said Tuesday. It was assembled in the same building where hardware now is being built for the Space Launch System that will take as- tronauts into deep space and to Mars.

Watkins said he believes the rocket now being restored to its rightful place in Infinity Science Center was built to inspire stu- dents to pursue careers in math and science and Wilson said the Saturn makes a big statement. dreamed big and they built big things to accomplish big he said. He also wants people to understand the legacy contributions the people of Mississippi and Louisia- na have made to Apollo and the space program. have rocket scien- tists he said. DREAM, CHALLENGE was all about rocket science around our said State Rep.

Mark Formby, R-Picayune. His family, like many others, moved to Picayune in 1966 so his father could work at Stennis Space Center. Gov. Phil Bryant said that Wilson told him that when President John F. Kennedy announced the space race, America had all of its 15 minutes histo- ry in space.

dedication. he said. Wilson said the young president laid out the objective to go to the moon, set a deadline be- fore the decade ended and NASA achieved the goals and brought the astronauts safely home. And the federal govern- ment funded it and in return pushed the devel- opment of computers and the design of new materi- als and products. APOLLO 13 MOMENT Infinity Science Center opened in 2012, with just enough money to com- plete the building but not to fund the exhibits and experiences that were planned.

Just as the Apollo 13 astronauts radioed NASA that there was a problem after the explosion in space, Haise and the In- finity board members called on NASA to help get Infinity open. was not an Wilson said. NASA officials dug through equipment and memorabilia in storage and shipped displays nev- er seen by the public. Among the many dis- played at Infinity now are a model of the section aboard the In- ternational Space Station, the suit Haise wore aboard Apollo 13 and a mock-up of the shuttle cabin where visitors can practice landing. NUMBERS ADD UP Infinity has two main galleries Earth and Space and by the end of next year will have in- vested $9 million in ex- hibits, Wilson said.

A $9.8 million grant through National Re- source Damage Assess- ment after the Gulf oil spill helped build the 7-mile Possum Walk Trail through the wetlands at Infinity. The original plan for Infinity changed, Wilson said. centers have to reinvent themselves all the he said. One of the amazing exhibits planned years ago for Infinity was My Now available to all at Google Earth. The mission of Infinity remains to inspire the next generation.

The sci- entists who sent astro- nauts to the moon used slide rules and computers with very little memory, but students com- plain that science and math are too hard. hear said Wilson. Infinity provides them simple activities that show them they can do comput- er programming. the challenges that shape us, define Wil- son said. Mary Perez: 228-896-2354, JOHN FITZHUGH Lucy Perry, 3, of Madisonville, plays inside a space suit at Infinity Science Center in Hancock County on Tuesday.

SCIENCE Infinity Science Center has mission beyond space, and Saturn is part of it Saturn should draw people off the interstate Next step is restoration and new building mission is to inspire students JOHN FITZHUGH Christian Landry of Hattiesburg, left, his son Wade, 10, far right, and Nate Kennedy, 11, watch Landry's paper airplane fly at Infinity Science Center in Hancock County on Tuesday. BY MARY PEREZ If you go: A Where: Infinity Science Center, Exit 2 of I-10 in Hancock County A Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. A Admission: $12 for ages 14-54, $10 for seniors and military, $6 for ages 4-13, free for children under 3. Free parking Infinity Science Center highlights Outside: Saturn rocket booster, F-1 rocket engine, tsunami buoy, U.S. Navy riverine training boat, 7-mile Possum Walk Trail, the starting point of the 100-mile Heritage trail from Infinity to Moss Point and guided tram tours led by Joe Pettigrew, staff naturalist Inside: Immersion Theater with Science on a Sphere through hurricanes and to the surface of the sun or Mars, Earth and Space Galleries, flight simulators, walk-through replica of the International Space Station's module, Odyssey Gift Shop and Infinity Cafe.