Challenger Space Center Goes Solar

EVLiving.com: Challenger Space Center Goes Solar
Peoria, Ariz. — Workers this week began installation of 78 solar panels comprising an 18 kW photovoltaic system on the roof of Challenger Space Center Arizona. The solar array is the result of a $50,000 grant, the maximum allotted per applicant, from the Arizona Department of Commerce through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act under the Renewable Energy Program for Non-Profit Organizations.

The $87,000 systems is also being funded by a $25,000 Renewable Energy grant from APS and will be eligible for approximately $12,000 in APS rebates.

The system is being installed by PWI Solar Construction of Mesa and Wang Electric of Phoenix, and will be an integral part of the public museum and educational programming at Challenger. PWI Solar Construction has also donated one of the panels for use in an educational exhibit.

Kennedy Partners, a Phoenix-based company specializing in capital improvement planning and alternative energy consultation, has donated the interactive kiosk and software for Challenger’s new solar exhibit. The exhibit will track the solar array’s energy savings in real-time.

“We are thrilled to not only with the energy savings of $4,000 to $5,000 per year, but this also gives us an opportunity to offer a new interactive exhibit on renewable energy,” said Kari Sliva, the Center’s Executive Director. “Heightening awareness of our solar system and earth science is precisely what we do here, not only for students but for the members of public who enjoy our museum. So in many ways, this grant was a perfect match for us and for all of our partners.”

Work on the solar system installation is expected to be complete within the next two weeks.

About the Museum
Built in 2000, more than 50,000 people visit the center annually, 30,000 of which are students.

The Center’s museum, showcasing space memorabilia and interactive exhibits like My Solar System where visitors catch a virtual planet, is open to the public Monday thru Friday (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.) Admission is $8 for Adults, $7 for Military & Seniors, and $5 for Students 4-18. Ages 3 & under and members are free.

Guided tours are included with admission and are given by volunteers, many of whom are retired from the aerospace industry and enjoy sharing their love of space exploration. Saturdays offer visitors a variety of family activities such as stargazing, planetarium shows, and birthday parties. Missions to “fly” in Challenger’s simulator are available to the public for an additional fee at 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. each Saturday.

Currently the museum is featuring a Smithsonian Institution Exhibit called An Astronaut’s Life: Articles Flown In Space, which is on loan until Sept. 2012. Augmenting the Smithsonian exhibit are items from local astronaut Bill Gregory, pilot of STS-67 Endeavour, who placed on loan his personal effects that flew with him and his NASA test pilot gear. Also on display until May 15 is a NASA-NASCAR exhibit “Rockets to Racecars.” Three tires – a space shuttle tire, NASCAR tire and lunar rover replica tire depict technology spinoffs between the two organizations. These exhibits are included with a general admission ticket.

For an interesting corporate teambuilding exercise, the Center re-creates the Apollo 13 crisis and requires teams to use only materials at their disposal to fashion a workable, life-saving solution. Another team-builder re-creates a natural disaster from the island of Montserrat which faced an erupting volcano and approaching hurricane. Teams must safely evacuate the island using communication and the transportation methods available to them. Programs are facilitated by a Challenger Space Center Flight Director.
The Knight Center for Space Science Education, the educational arm of Challenger Space Center Arizona, uses specialized applied science curriculum which takes what teachers teach in the class and turns it into a hand-on mission to outer space in Challenger’s unique simulator. Students become mission controllers and fly a spacecraft on a two-hour simulation to land a probe on the tail of a comet, return to the moon, or take a voyage to Mars. Arizona State Standards in science, technology, engineering, math and language arts are incorporated into each mission and educational workshops.

Published on behalf of Challenger Space Center
For more information, visit the center’s web site at http://www.azchallenger.org/.