Should Apollo Tower Be Declared National Monument?

Should the launch gantry that helped send Apollo 11 to the Moon be declared a national treasure, or should it be melted down for scrap metal?

Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) 1 was the starting point for eight Apollo missions, including the first moon mission and Skylab flights. The 380-foot tall tower was dismantled in 1983. It's remains are in the "boneyard" behind KSC headquarters and have been deemed an environmental hazard. Florida Today reports heavy metals and toxic substances are leeching into the groundwater underneath the boneyard, creating a danger to the environment.

So NASA this week started a $2 million clean-up. But the space agency has given supports of the LUT one more chance to find a way to preserve it. NASA doesn't have any big hopes that this effort, unlike several before it, will work.

"A lot of people have tried over the years to save the tower, but unfortunately no one has come up with the financial wherewithal to do it," said Burton Summerfield, chief of the safety, health and environmental division at KSC, in an interview with Florida Today.

But the Space Restoration Society hopes to succeed where others have failed.

"It needs to be rebuilt as a monument to all of the hard work everybody put in to beat Russia in one of the most incredible races that this world has ever seen," said SRS's chief operating officer, Ross Tierney. "People sacrificed their lives for this project, and yet, what's going to happen to the LUT now? It's going to be turned into disposable razor blades and paper clips. Is that a fitting end to such a structure? I don't think so."

SRS hopes to raise $40 million to restore the gantry. It's already started an online petition drive where almost 2000 people -- including one Neil Armstrong (THE Neil Armstrong?) -- have signed up.

Can SRS save LUT-1? "Obviously, $40 million is a lot of money, but we think it's achievable," Ross told Florida Today. "Perhaps the effort is too late, but we're trying everything we can at this 11th hour."

Indeed, time is not on their side. "I think that's the question in everybody's mind right now. A lot depends on how viable their offer is. If they come to the table with a substantial amount of money, then I'm sure they will get careful consideration," said Burton Summerfield, chief of safety health and environment at NASA's KSC. "The downside for us is that we're out trying to get this issue addressed from an environmental standpoint. And the longer we wait on that side, the more difficult it makes our job. So there are definitely competing pressures in order to try to get this addressed quickly. "

FMI: www.savethelut.org