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Music

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On the grounds of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, engines growled to life as

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hulking equipment moved into place.

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(Natural sound of equipment cutting into the side of the building)

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The former Mercury Mission Control Center building -- long ravaged by time and the

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elements -- was set for demolition.

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Looking like angry beasts from a science fiction movie, the heavy equipment consumed the

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structure bit by bit, until nothing was left but the slab where it stood.

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As pieces of the old building were eaten away, more than fifty years of space history came

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to completion.

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The teams who guided the United States' first space pioneers did so from this unassuming

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structure built in the late 50s.

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All of NASA's Mercury flights and the first three launches of the Gemini Program were

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controlled from the facility.

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In the end, the demolition came many years after the building's glory faded and its position

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as a tourist stop ended.

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Yet despite the demise of the building, the Flight Control Area -- the heart of the mission

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control operation -- has been faithfully preserved for future generations.

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The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has recreated the control center in its Early

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Space Exploration display.

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In this display, the public can view the actual consoles, furnishings and world tracking map

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used during those early flights.

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The preservation stands as a tribute to those who pioneered NASA's manned space

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program -- leading to the moon missions just a few years later -- and paving the way for the

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human spaceflight program that continues today.