HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Space & Rocket Center has started the construction of a 40,600-square-foot building to support its Space Camp programs.
This building will contain a 1,000 seat auditorium, 10 classrooms, a multi-functional lobby, and a registration area for camp check-in.
The new facilities are expected to be completed and ready for Space Camp by March 2023.
This addition to USSRC is just another testimony to the growth taking place here in Huntsville.
"Today there was a groundbreaking and two ribbon cuttings, you know, most folks, that's - that's an entire month, in that case, it's a day for us," said Mayor Paul Finley of the City of Madison.
"This building is impressive from every angle, from the moonscape exteriors, which are 3D printed, to the soaring lobby, where future generations of astronauts, engineers, scientists, and sovereign experts will enter," said CEO of the USSRC and Space Camp, Dr. Kimberly Robinson.
"The pinnacle of this area is the Space Rocket Center. When folks come here, they come over the mountains and they see the rocket, it immediately lets you know what this community's fabric is," said Finley.
"It takes all of us to make this happen," said Madison County Chairman, Dale Strong. "I am, you are, we are the United States Space Rocket Center, our finest days are still ahead."
WATCH: 3D "fly-thru" of artist renderings
From UUSRC:
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center is proud to announce the naming of its new Space Camp Operations Center for Boeing, a global leader in aerospace and a longtime supporter of the Rocket Center and its Space Camp programs. Boeing is making a $3.5 million donation for the new building.
Also announced today is the naming rights for the multi-function lobby of the new operations building. The Allen Foundation made the funds possible for this soaring space, which will be named the Anthony Loumis Lobby in honor of 13-year-old Anthony Loumis, a Space Academy graduate.
The following donors contributed funds to outfit three of the 10 state-of-the-arts classrooms:
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama - Robotics Lab
Gary Brukardt Foundation - Rocketry Propulsion
Dr. Joyce Neighbors Trust - STEM Lab
Fuqua and Partners is the architect for the new building located between the Rocket Center’s Education Programs building and the Habitat 1 Space Camp dormitory. Fite Building Company of Decatur is the general contractor for the project.
The State of Alabama previously awarded the Rocket Center an economic development grant for the construction of the facility. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project, which is now underway and scheduled to open in March 2023.