Space shuttle replica coming to Columbus

Mid-morning Monday, if you are driving along Ga. Hwy. 18 or I-185 between Pine Mountain and Columbus and you see something that looks like a space shuttle on the back of a truck, well, it probably will be.

That’s when a quarter-scale replica of the shuttle is expected to enter the Chattahoochee Valley on its way to eventually being permanently displayed at the Columbus State University Coca-Cola Space Science Center.

The replica’s destination Monday will be Flightways Columbus at the Columbus Airport, scheduled to arrive in the parking lot at 11:30 a.m., when it will be prepared for storage. CSU will develop plans and raise money to house the one-of-a-kind engineering prototype.

CSU’s news release Friday described it this way: “As an artifact, it is an irreplaceable part of our nation’s heritage.”

Considered the largest sub-scale prototype of the space shuttle, it is large enough to simulate all of the primary structural elements and joints, the release said.

“The system features a 30-foot orbiter with a 19.5-foot wingspan, a 38-foot-long external tank with a 7-foot diameter, and two 37-foot-long solid rocket boosters,” the release said. “When stacked vertically, the prototype stands more than 48-feet tall. The prototype could be tested in a variety of angles and configurations, including variable loading of the external tanks, allowing replication of the most critical stages of the shuttle’s flight to space.”

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Space shuttle replica coming to Columbus."