The U. S. Space and Rocket Center is a major draw for tourism in Huntsville, Alabama. It is a major part of the city’s landscape. The replica of the Saturn V rocket can be seen coming into Huntsville from the southern direction. Huntsville is called “Rocket City”. The space industry has been an important part of the city’s landscape and culture over the last 60 years. The Saturn V was built in Huntsville before being launched in Florida. The U.S. Space Center has a museum and Space Camp.
The U.S. Space and Rocket Center has been facing hard times. With the Covid-19 pandemic, this has really hurt tourism. With the shutdowns and restricted travel, this has an effect on movement. Movement is one of the 5 major themes of geography. Movement of people, of money, of things.
With the limited amount of travel taking place, this also means fewer people traveling to Huntsville. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center had to close to prevent Covid-19 from spreading. With it re-opening, fewer people could go, not that it would matter. With fewer people traveling, this also means fewer people visiting the Space and Rocket Center. Because of Covid-19, there have been financial issues, threatening the future of U.S. Space And Rocket Center, with the possibility of it closing for good.
Currently, there is a GoFundMe up that is taking donations to save the center’s Space Camp, and to keep it from closing. If you would like to donate, click on the link: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/savespacecamp
Tourism is a geographic in its basis, in its nature. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center is part of it. While it is about science and engineering, people traveling to see it is an example of how geography works. The Covid-19 pandemic is also an example of how movement can be affected.
TheGeoScholar 