Photograph by Jacquelyn Ramseyer
Carol Henderson, whose husband, Lee, was a flight engineer in the Navy, started the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum in 1994 to remember all the military branches that were once based at Moffett. The Museum is in danger of closing in April unless $80,000 can be raised to put in sprinklers and smoke alarms.
Fire Damage
NASA says Moffett museum must close its doors for not complying with fire regulations
By Jana Seshadri
After offering the public a peek into aviation and military history for almost eight years, the Moffet Field Historical Society has been notified by NASA to close the Moffet Field Museum doors to the public unless it complies with certain safety requirements.
In May 1999, the society signed the Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with NASA, under which the society had to add several fire and safety improvements, including a fire sprinkler system, emergency lighting, smoke/fire detectors, fire doors and panic buttons, by March 2000. The museum is located inside Hangar No. 1, within the NASA perimeter, and additions to the museum would provide safe access to the public.
"We have allowed them more time because the museum is situated inside the external perimeter of the facility," said David Morse, head of public affairs for NASA. "However, NASA has plans to open up an additional 213 acres of their property for a research park, which will make the museum area more accessible to the public," Morse said. Morse said at the fire marshal's insistence, the safety requirements have now become more necessary.
"It will cost approximately $80,000 to take care of all the requirements," Museum Director Carol Henderson said.
In a letter to Henderson dated Dec. 13, 2001, NASA/AMES Research Center Director Henry McDonald stated, "The failure to make the necessary fire and safety improvements, as well as the failure to reimburse NASA for its costs, has caused the society to be in default of the terms of its agreement with NASA. Therefore, NASA intends to exercise its right to terminate the existing Reimbursable Space Act Agreement, effective April 15, 2002." This gave the museum an additional four months to comply with the agreement.
Henderson, whose late husband served in the Navy beginning in 1949, was instrumental in starting the museum in 1993, which houses artifacts, plaques, pictures, models and historical pieces, with collections constantly being added.
Top photograph courtesy of the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum
Moffett Field was established 60 years ago as the home base for the U.S.S. Macon, the nation's mightiest lighter-than-aircraft airship, also known as a dirigible.The U.S.S. Macon met its demise in 1935, when it ran into a storm off Point Sur and went down in 1,450 feet of water.
Several aviation aficionados and enthusiasts have been donating their collections and artwork to the museum with the hope of preserving them. Frederick Lopez, an airline historian and a volunteer at the museum for the past eight years, said he has donated many pictures and artifacts to the museum, including quite a few model airplanes that he built himself. Lopez said he hopes the museum will be saved so all the memories and value it holds are preserved.
"Otherwise a piece of history will be locked away," Lopez said.
If the museum should be closed, considerable storage arrangements would have to be made, Henderson said.
Henderson said she has been operating the museum, first under agreement with the Naval Air Station Moffet Field, then under the sponsorship of the Naval Air Reserve Santa Clara, after Moffet Field was transferred to NASA in 1994. With the downsizing of the reserves, Henderson said she was able to develop the museum as an educational facility designed to educate the public about the history and technical accomplishments of NASA/Ames Research Center while continuing its original purpose of presenting the diverse history of the military at Moffet Field.
"They have not had a single fire in Hangar #1," she said. "Not even a waste-paper basket fire."
But, according to Morse, certain measures need to be taken, not only to ensure the safety of the museum and its artifacts, but also of the public that visit it.
A WWII-era balloon basket sits on display at the Moffett Field Historical Society Museum. The basket was used to train men in 'free-ballooning,' the first step in qualifying as lighter-than-air pilots.
Photograph at right by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Morse said that an Institutional Service Pool was set up so all entities within the NASA perimeter could pay their rental fees and costs into it. The museum's fee has been waived for almost three years, Morse said, because it has been unable to pay its way.
"Our compliance with the agreement was dependent upon the 1999 Air Show, which was an economic disaster," Henderson said.
According to Morse, several alternative routes could be explored to acquire financial backing. Corporate sponsorships and public and private donations are a few options, he said.
"What they need to do right now is to develop a business plan which will address their financial problem," Morse said. "Personally, I feel badly; I have taken many friends and family members to the museum myself."
Morse said development of a business and financial plan will enable NASA to consider drawing up another contract with the museum, which will provide them with more time.
"Let me assure you, we're not being mean," he added. "Right now we don't have a choice."
For more information about financial contributions to the Moffet Field Museum, contact Carol Henderson at 408.739.2027. All contributions are tax deductible.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
